Dragonborn Gothic 2 - Solstheim
by gothicjedi666
Summary: Those of you who've read my Slayer Gothic stories know that Dragonborn Gothic ends up living at the Citadel, and knows how to make Shouts that make doorways to other worlds. This story will explain how he got out of Skyrim and why. Came out a little shorter than intended. Warnings for adult subjects.
1. Solstheim 1

**Author Note**

When I started writing my Dragonborn Gothic story I always intended to make a whole series of stories, but then I got distracted with Jump Chain, and real life stuff, like family and money.

Those of you who've read my Slayer Gothic stories know that Dragonborn Gothic ends up living at the Citadel and knows how to make Shouts that make doorways to other worlds. This story will explain how he learned to do that, and why he left Skyrim.

I should have it finished soon, and it will about thirty thousand words. Nothing special I just want to keep creative juices flowing.

**Dragonborn Gothic 2 - Solstheim**

**Part 1**

**Outside of Whiterun. Skyrim**

Now that Alduin AKA the World-Eater was sort of dead, he might return one day as I hadn't taken in his soul, this meant that Nirn wasn't going to eaten any time soon, as such I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted to do next with my very strange life and action packed life.

For now the ceasefire was still holding, meaning that the civil war here in Skyrim was on pause, and while I knew that the Stormcloaks and Imperials would start the fighting again sooner or later, I just didn't feel the need to get involved in that conflict, at least not yet. Since I was neither an Imperial or a native Nord I felt that both factions had points both good and bad.

Also I needed to consider the vampires. These days they were causing trouble, and I might soon need to get involved, and I had means to do so as I'd gather quite the following while travelling the land, mostly female company, and they were a tough group of fighters who'd do well against vampires or whomever I decided to side against in the ongoing civil war, should I pick a side.

Another option was to simply wander the land, fighting monsters, looking for treasure, and making more than money to last a life time. I'd decide on my group's next course of action soon enough. For now I'd sent everyone home to relax for a while, knowing that should I desire it I'd be able to reform the group in a reasonable amount of time, and even recruit new members if I needed more followers.

Currently Aela the Huntress and I were returning to Whiterun with the intent of getting some rest after our latest adventure when on the road we encountered three strangers. They each wore a strange set of robes, and equally strange masks. The robes were brown, with yellow plates of some strange moulded material on the right arm and wrists. Their masks were white, fashioned into very odd looking sort of skulls. They looked a little like cultists, and I had the oddest feeling that I'd seen them somewhere before.

"Who are they?" Aela asked of me.

Despite the familiar feeling I had no information for her.

"I have no idea" I said.

They seemed to have been waiting for us, and very quicklu I got the sense that they were hostile, yet I didn't understand why as while I'd certainly annoyed a few groups in my time I felt somewhat sure that I'd never seen people dressed like these cultists before now. Not only was there style of dress unlike anything else I'd seen in these lands the fabrics also looked alien. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they were, there was plenty of weird shit around here and I was an alien so there could be more people from other worlds hanging about.

"You there!" one of them shouted.

While her face and figure were hidden, and her voice was partly disguised, I knew that this person was a Dumner female there was a certain something in their voices I could recognise.

"Are you the one they call Dragonborn?" she demanded to know.

Give that I was dressed in full Dragonplate Armour, which had been forged from materials including dragon bones, dragon scales, metal, fur and leather, by a few smiths that the Jarl of Whiterun had been able to get to work together, it seemed highly likely that I was.

"Yes" I answered. "I'm the Dragonborn. Can I help you with something?".

The woman stepped forward, and I noted that her posture had become clearly hostile.

"Your lies fall on deaf ears, deceiver!" the lead cultist yelled "The true Dragonborn comes, you are but his shadow".

Well this sounded all nice and crazy.

"When Lord Miraak appears, all shall bare witness!" the other two cultists yelled at the same time "None shall stand to oppose him!".

Yep crazy alright.

"Look, whatever the problem is, I'm sure..." I started to say.

While I wanted to avoid a fight as I simply desired to go home my hope was in vain. The female cultist drew her sword and I stopped wanting to waste any more time attempting to talk, as that was clearly pointless, and I drew my own sword. I'd named it Brisingr, and the finally crafted weapon had a blade made from dragon bone, and had been forged for my hand by a very talented blacksmith, it also carried a flame enchantment which had been added by Whiterun's court mage, as such the weapon was vastly superior to other swords. Such weapons were rare as I'd not slain many dragons, as they weren't exactly common creatures even in this time.

This cultist was no true warrior and her far more common blade sword soon clattered to the ground beside the limb that'd held it. She barely had enough time to scream before my blade ended her life, she died with a sickening gurgle, and it was only at this point that I realised that I should be trying to keep one of them alive for questioning. However they did seem like fanatics so that might not be possible.

A moment later the other two monks drew their weapons, and ran towards us. Aela leapt into action, taking one of the cultists out of the fight very quickly, while I killed the other, the two less talkative cult members only had daggers, weapons that looked more ceremonial than practical, as such they had to get in close while we weren't that limited.

"Are you okay?" I asked of the Huntress.

Using the robes of one of the now dead people I cleaned by weapon.

"I'm fine, Gothic" the Huntress replied.

Soon I was looking over the bodies and I found a folded piece of paper, only partially splattered with blood, on the body of one of the cultists. I opened it up and gave it a quick read.

_Board the vessel 'Northern Maiden' docked at Raven Rock. Take it to Windhelm, then begin your search. Kill the False Dragonborn known as Gothic before he reaches Solstheim. Return with word of your success, and Miraak shall be most pleased._

Miraak. Solstheim.

Some of this was ringing bells with me. I knew of Solstheim, it was an island to the north-east of Skyrim, and the name Miraak bothered me, I felt like I should know it. At least I knew for certain that I would have to track down this Miraak person, if only to learn more about him, and I felt sure that this would lead to more adventure. This was what I lived for. To explore new places, met new people, and sometimes kill them, and not as often as I like I'd get to fuck some nice lady.

"What does it say?" Aela asked.

I passed her the note.

"Looks like we're going on a trip" I the said.

Since we'd first met, back when I'd first seen Whiterun, the werewolf called Aela had been a big part of my life. After I'd taken in my first dragon soul Aela had decided to follow me around, despite that the fact that she'd been the one to land the killing blow that took down the first dragon. There was something about being the Dragonborn that made her interested in me, and she wasn't the only female to feel that way.

"We can't get to Solstheim from Wildhelm" said the Huntress.

Like me she understood that I would have to kill this Miraak.

"We'll head to Windhelm in the morning" I decided.

Tonight I needed to get some rest and deal with some matters while here in town.

(Line Break)

**Whiterun. Skyrim.**

I pushed open the door to Breezehome, walking inside to a room full of warmth and the smell of cooking food. It had been a while since I'd been inside the building as I spent a lot of time travelling across Skyrim, staying in taverns or camping out somewhere outside of civilisation.

Lydia was just inside, sitting on a chair near the fire. She looked up as I entered, and smiled slightly when she saw who it was at the door.

"Hello," I said, skipping the pleasantries "I need to ask you a favour".

My words didn't surprise her.

"Of course." Lydia said as she stood up "What do you require of me, my Thane?".

She'd do anything I wanted her to, and the dragon part of me enjoyed the dominance I had over others, far more than I would have done if I was still purely human, which I was on a physical level at least.

"First of all, have you heard of a person called Miraak?" I asked.

The housecarl frowned, and then shook her head. Almost as if for a moment she did know about Miraak and then had lost the information. I felt that way to, like I should know stuff about him.

"No, I don't believe I have" she said "Why do you ask?".

"He sent some assassins after me" I told her "Apparently he's on an island called Solstheim".

"Has he got a death wish?" Lydia asked

To be fair most people wouldn't piss off a guy who'd slain a world ended dragon. Doing something like that wasn't good for your health.

"Apparently, he's another Dragonborn" I informed the native woman.

Now my words did shock her.

"What?!" exclaimed Lydia. "That's impossible. You're the last one, aren't you?".

Indeed that should be the case. The existence of the last Dragonborn was prophecy.

"That's what it says on Alduin's wall" I said to her "And that thing hasn't been wrong about anything else".

The wall told anyone who could read it, the story of Alduin's time of dragon rule, the human rebellion led by those who could "Shout," and finally a panel that showed Alduin being defeated by a Shout. Alduin's Wall also prophesied the events that occurred during games The Elder Scrolls: Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, and of course Skyrim.

"Perhaps its an impostor" Lydia suggested "Some cult leader trying to gain influence by saying he's Dragonborn?"

While this could be the case, and the followers of this Miraak seemed cult like I felt that there was more going on here.

"So you want me to come along?" Lydia asked.

Her face became excited. She was normally more stoic than this, but after so much time spent together, she didn't bother to hide her feelings from me.

"It depends on if I can get passage on a ship or not" I told her "and if I'm gone for a while I'll need someone to take care of my affairs here".

As of yet I hadn't finished pay for this house, and I had business interests in this town. Lydia wouldn't lack for coin to handle such things as I had some treasure hidden in my home, gold, jewels, magical items and the like, that could be used to pay the bills if I was gone for a while.

"Aela and I will be heading to Windhelm in the morning, so it would best if you took over for me here" I said to the housecarl "People will come looking for my help, and some of my companions will want to know where I am. I need you to deal with them. When I get back you can fill me on what I missed, and I promise to take you with me next time".

Lydia allowed herself a small smile.

"As you wish my Thane" she said "I'll prepare a bath while you pack for your trip".

Yes that would be good.

(Line Break)

**Whiterun. Skyrim.**

Despite how often it seemed to be happening lately, it was still rather surreal to keep finding naked women who badly wanted to have sex with me in my bed. Something about being the Dragonborn made people want to follow me, and often to please me.

Lydia had long since gotten into the habit of warming my bed, which was partly a practical thing here in Skyrim due to how cold it could get, and she was more than happy to let me do whatever I wanted to her. There was no part of her body hidden from my eyes or my touch. My hand quickly enough got to her one of her breasts and I cupped it lightly.

"Please," she pleaded as she stared at me "Fuck me".

Clearly it had been too long since she'd had anyone touching her. I didn't fuck her enough.

"So eager? I've barely even done anything to you yet" I teased "Poor girl, all those weeks of waiting for me to come home. I'll have to make it worth the wait".

While I returned my hand to her breasts, she wrapped her hands around the back of my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. I squeezed her breasts and pinched her nipples. For such a tough lady she was very soft in places, as well as fun to play with.

I continued to take my time touching her when I got down to the pussy she kept shaved for me, and while it was clear that she wanted me inside her right now I didn't fuck her just yet. I eventually granted her a taste of what she wanted when I pushed my middle finger deep insider her eager cunt.

Her slick fuckhole eagerly took a second finger and it felt wonderful to work them in and out of her. Aside from the grinding up against me the woman neither spoke or moved. She knew her place, which was serve me, and I enjoyed that greatly.

"Now I'm going to have you" I told her.

Her hand flew to her crotch in order to hold herself open for me while my hand guided the tip of my cock to her warm and waiting entrance. I pushed inside her in one long thrust after our bodies had moved to get properly aligned. Then I was pounding into her without delay.

I felt her ankles hook behind my back, an action that ensured that I stayed inside her. She pushed herself up as best she could even as pounded into her, as if she was trying to get me as deep inside her as possible. Clearly she needed this fucking even more than I'd thought.

Time passed in a blur for me. At some point I rolled over, then she was moving herself up and down on my cock, having a fun ride. Her breasts bounced in front of my face and I didn't leave them alone for long.

"Please...almost..." she groaned

While I tried to hold a little longer so that she'd cum before me, it wasn't long before I felt my cock sending my seed upside inside of her greatful pussy. Thankfully for her this happened as she reached orgasm rather loudly and soon collapsed on top of me. She needed a while before she could roll off of me and go to sleep.

(Line Break)

**Windhelm. Skyrim.**

Aela and I stepped onto the deck of the 'Northern Maiden', and approached the important looking man who oversaw the affairs of the ship, he must be the captain. I walked up to him and cleared my throat. The man looked at me, and blinked a few times, as if he wasn't sure what he was seeing, and to be fair you didn't often see a man in dragonplate armour even in this part of the word.

"Are you the captain of the _Northern Maiden_?" I wished to know.

The man nodded.

"That's me. Captain Gjalund Salt-Sage" he replied "Why do you ask? Who sent you?".

Aela stepped forward, and I could sense that she was annoyed.

"We were attacked by some cultists who came here on your ship" she said.

Gjalund held his hands up apologetically and took a step back. On some level he realised that Aela was even more dangerous than she looked.

"Now hold on! That wasn't my fault" he insisted, not wanting to take the blame "I didn't know they were going to attack anybody! I don't even know how I got here".

That last part led to some confusion for me.

"How can you not know how you got here?" I asked "You must remember sailing into port".

Sailing a ship was hard work, not something you could sleepwalk through.

"It's hard to explain. I remember those weird masked people coming on board, then… the next thing I remember, I was here and they were gone" he admitted "Like it was all a dream".

The Huntress looked at me.

"Some kind of illusion magic?" she asked.

Aela, like many warrior types in this land, saw mages as weaklings who could not fight their own battles. The fact that I used spells didn't change her mind about this and she never thought of me as weak despite this. Still my knowledge of magic was limited.

"Did you see them cast a spell on you?" I asked "Do you remember them speaking any words or see any lights?".

The captain shook his head.

"No, not that I remember" he said "It's just not right, losing whole days like that. There's been something strange happening on Solstheim for a while now, but after this I'm done. I'm not going back there".

This didn't suit my plans.

"We need to ensure that no more cultists try and kill me" I said.

The captain shook his head.

"Look, I'm sorry about your troubles, but I don't want to risk" he said "I'm just a simple sailor, I never wanted to get mixed up in any of this".

Suddenly a pouch of gold appeared in my hand.

"I'm sure we can work this out" I told the captain "I can pay well, and I won't let anyone harm your crew".

The captain didn't look convinced.

"How can you promise that?" he asked.

At this point I smiled.

"Because I'm the Dragonborn" I answered.

He looked me up and down again, taking in the sight of my armour and weapons, and I did fit the image of someone who went around slaying monsters.

"The Dragonborn" he said, in awe "Divines forgive me, Dragonborn. As much as I hate the notion, if you wish to go to Solstheim, then I will take you and your companion".

I passed him the pouch of gold. He might do it for free, but I knew that a small operation like this couldn't afford to make unprofitable trips.

"We need to leave as soon as we can" I told the captain "the sooner the better, those cultist need to be dealt with".

With that the man walked off, and quickly began barking orders at the various sailors around him. The ship was clearly a cargo vessel meant for transporting goods not people, but it should have room for us.

"How long do you think the trip will take?" Aela asked me.

Well the island wasn't too far away, at least on the map, but ships with sails depended on the wind so travel time could be hard to guess.

"I don't know days maybe" I said.

This news did not sit well with her.

"Why the miserable look?" I asked.

She didn't answer right away.

"I get seasick" she admitted.

This amused me as Aela was a tough warrior woman who I'd seen charge at dragons, trolls, undead and things that looked as if they'd crawled out children's nightmares, yet going on a little sailing trip was what made her nervous. I had to laugh, which she didn't thank me for.

(Line Break)

**_Northern Maiden_. Out To Sea.**

While the Huntress remained below deck in an attempt to avoid feeding the fishes with the contents of her stomach I sat on deck and looked through the notes I'd made on the dragon language while travelling around Skyrim. I'd seen plenty of Word Walls during my adventures, and I'd been mentored by the Greybeards as well, as such I knew more a few words.

I'd not had any where near as much time to study this dialect as I would have liked, and there was far more to this form of communication than simply saying the words, so I could not say that I truly understood the tongue, but I felt that progress was being made.

The ship gently rocked as the _Northern Maiden_ made its way to our island destination, and the sun provided plenty of light for me to read by, as such I was able to make some more notes as I tried to better understand the power I'd been given.

There was more to being the Dragonborn than taking in the souls of slain dragons, in a sense I was a dragon, and so their language also belonged to me. I felt that if I could master it then I'd be able to do so much more.

Right now my main focus was on the word _Miraad_ which meant Doorway, and I focused on it because I had a theory that I might be able to create a new Shout, one that would open up a doorway to another world. Such a thing had to be possible otherwise I couldn't have gotten to Skyrim in the first place, yet I lacked the power.

_Fus Bex Miraad _

_Force Open Doorway_

Of course there was more to a Shout than simply knowing the right words, you had understand the words, and make them a part of yourself. Not an easy thing to do for most, and even the Masters up on the mountain hadn't created totally new Shouts, however I was the Dragonborn, if anyone could make a Shout that opened a doorway to another world it would be me.

I had to be able to control where the door opened up of course, otherwise I could end up anywhere, this would take a great deal of control. Yet should I be able to control such a Shout, then I should be able to leave this world and venture elsewhere. To go to places were no one knew who I was, and no one wanted me dead, a place that contained no person who could match my power. This was my dream.

"Land ahoy!" a sailor yelled.

It seemed as if our boat trip was nearly over. Aela would be pleased.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

We had finally arrived at the island called Solstheim, which was located on the Sea of Ghosts, between the provinces of Skyrim and Morrowind.

For the longest time, Solstheim had held little significance to the greater world, until the East Empire Trading Company arrived and built their colony here. It had grown in importance again after the disaster in Morrowind when the High King of Skyrim gave Solstheim to Dark Elf refugees.

However they weren't the only people who lived on the island. The Skaal Tribe of Nords had lived on Solstheim since back in the Merethic Era, or so I'd heard. I was looking forward to meeting those people if I got the chance as they had knowledge of a substance called Stalhrim, a kind of enchanted ice, which in times past was used in the burial rituals of ancient Nords and another group called the Atmorans. The deceased would be encased in the material as a form of protection, a privilege that was typically reserved for only important Nordic individuals. It was also believed to have been used to craft armour for ancient kings that fought in long forgotten battle.

"My name is Gothic" I told the Dunmer male who met us at the dock "This is my companion Aela the Huntress. We're explores come to learn about the island".

Which wasn't an outright lie as I did want to explore this place, but mostly I was here to find out who had the balls to use my title.

"As long as you're staying here, remember this. Raven Rock is sovereign territory of the House Redoran" we were told "This is Morrowind, not Skyrim: while you're here, you will be expected to obey our laws. Any questions?".

There were none from me.

"You don't seem to trust outsiders," Aela stated.

That hadn't been a question, but she still got an answer.

"And with good reason" the Dunmer said "I am Adril Arano, second councillor here at Raven Rock. The security of this town is my responsibility".

I didn't know enough about Dark Elf governments to understand exactly how important this man was, yet I was able to hazard a guess given his sense of self importance and his fine clothing, which told me that he believed himself important and that he had the wealth to show it.

"Is the security of Raven Rock a concern?" I asked.

There could be monsters here that needed slaying, and that was always good for earning some coin.

"Of course," Adril replied. "This isn't exactly Blacklight. We're on the frontier and we have our fair share of ruffians and creatures outside the settlement. But I won't let them get the best of us, not after all the effort we've put into this town".

If I recalled correctly Blacklight was one of the eight major cities in the province of Morrowind and was the capital of the northwestern region of the province. Blacklight was also the capital of the Great House Redoran, who were a political house known for their war-like ideals as well as their focus on strength and endurance. After Mournhold was sacked some time ago, Blacklight became the new capital of the province of Morrowind.

As for the dangers here on this island, of those there were many. Bandits, some little creatures that could be a type of goblin, possibly a few dragons as not all of them had agreed to follow Paarthurnax when he spoke of his intent to bring what he called the "Way of the Voice" to all dragons , those that followed the wise old dragon wouldn't attack people unless attacked and would stay in the mountains, but not all of the creatures would chose to live like that.

"Anything we should be aware of?" I asked, now having a question.

As it turned out there was.

"There's some sort of disturbance around the Earth-Stone" the Dark Elf told us "but I'm not entirely sure what it's about".

I wouldn't mind checking out this Earth-Stone as it might be a clue as the strange cult wanted to kill me. I still felt as if I should know more about this island, and the other Dragonborn, given how much I'd played the game, but the details simply weren't there. Could something be messing with my mind?

"Remember," Adril said "We're watching you".

I was sure that he'd meant to sound threatening, however after all I'd been through I simply couldn't be intimated by a mere bureaucrat.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

As we walked into the settlement I smiled as it felt good to have solid ground beneath my feet again after so much time spent at sea, even if the ground was covered in a fine layer of ash, yet despite the ash the air was cool enough and it felt easy to breathe.

The guards all wore bonemold armour from head to toe I noticed, I wondered how it compared to my armour, but it would be best not to test that unless I really had to as fighting the guard wouldn't help me figure out what was going on around here.

Looking around I saw that town of Raven Rock had high walls of stone on either side, and while we walked, another thing that I noticed was that there were more than a few pairs of red eyes watching us.

"Why are they looking at us like that?" Aela asked me in a whisper.

I didn't know why so many were giving us odd looks, and I didn't think that it was a good thing.

"What do you want?" a guard asked.

The guards in Skyrim had always been friendly towards me, and while I knew the people living here weren't so welcoming to outsiders I'd not thought to hear such hostility in anyone's voice.

"I would like directions to the Earth-Stone," I said.

Since I had no map of this island or a native guide I would depend on directions until I learned my way around.

"Can't you look for yourself?" the guard retorted.

Then, with a disgusted grumble, he pointed us in the right direct

"That way" he said gruffly.

For some reason I got the feeling that this trip wasn't going to be as fun as I'd hoped.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

Soon we came to the tall stone which I had wanted to check out. Before even giving the stone a glance I saw a bald Dunmer who wore rather garish robes, he was watching several people working about the large rock. As we approached the Dunmer he turned to greet us. Though he was red-eyed and blue-skinned with a fiercely prominent brow, like the others of his race, he greeted us with something other than mild hostility.

"You there," he said. "You don't seem to be in quite the same state as the others, very interesting".

Interesting was a good word for what was going on around here, although the poor people who were working on the stone might not think that. Most of them were Dunmer, guards, men, women and children, townsfolk of all ages, but some were Nords clad in thick clothing.

They all seemed to be speaking in the same lifeless, droning voice.

"Here is the shrine..." they said. "That they have forgotten...Here do we toil...That we might remember..."

Well this was nice and creepy, much like the cult members I'd run into a few days ago.

"May I ask what it is you're doing here?" the Dunmer wished to know.

At this point I felt very sure that this Dark Elf was in the game. I couldn't remember anything else, but he was important, that I knew for certain.

"We're here to explore and learn" I said to the mage.

"By night we reclaim..." droned the workers. "What by day was stolen...Far from ourselves...He grows ever near to us... Miraak..."

This was getting creeper. I was getting a Lovecraftian vibe from all of this.

"Any idea what is going on here" I asked.

Someone had to know something.

"I'm not sure," the elf said "There are ruins near the centre of the island. My research has shown that they were part of an ancient temple dedicated to Miraak. If I were you, I'd look there for answers".

Miraak must be behind this strangeness, of that I also felt certain, but who exactly was Miraak. He couldn't be a Dragonborn. You only got one of them at a time, and they came centuries apart, when the gods sent us.

"Something's wrong with these people" Aela said to the Dark Elf mage "Haven't you tried to free them?".

He seemed shocked by the very idea.

"Me? Of course not!" the Dunmer exclaimed. "To do that would prevent whatever happens when they're done. I've been waiting too long to see what happens when they're finished, I just have to see how all this turns out!"

With that he turned and walked away, leaving us alone with the hypnotised people. Aela muttered something about mages that was not at all flattering.

"I have a feeling that we can help these people if we can figure out what this all has to do with Miraak" I assured the warrior woman "For now let's head back into town and do some shopping. We'll need supplies for our trip to that temple the mage mentioned".

We should find some answers once there.


	2. Solstheim 2

**Dragonborn Gothic 2 - Solstheim**

**Part 2**

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

After pulling the helmet off my head with some effort, I let out a sigh, it was good to have head protection, but the helmet did make my head sweaty, perhaps I needed a haircut.

I pulled open the heavy door in front of me and entered "The Retching Netch", which didn't really sound very good, but we needed somewhere to stay tonight. The building had a horseshoe-shaped upper level with a hearth at the far end, and a staircase descending into a basement level.

Even from up here I could hear the sounds of clinking glass and muffled conversation below, so I assumed the main part of the bar was down there. When Aela and I entered the pub area I saw a few people seated at tables, and the bar itself, which I went right over to, but before I could catch the attention of the innkeeper someone came over to talk to me.

"Doing a bit of adventuring, are you?" inquired a male dark elf.

This man was dressed head to toe in chitin armour, and he carried a sword so I figured that he was a warrior, perhaps one for hire, and now that he'd seen two people who looked as if they might actually be able to afford his services he was going to make a sales pitch.

"Yes" was all I said on the subject.

Aela didn't even bother to look at the elf. Sure she also fought for gold, but her lot tended look down on sellswords as they had little to no honour, fighting only for money, were as her friends fought more for the thrill of battle rather than the rewards.

"May I offer my services?" he suggested "Teldryn Sero, spellsword for hire. Best swordsman in Solstheim"

I was annoyed at him for bothering me when I just wanted a drink and a room for the night, besides I preferred female companions.

"My skills will speak for themselves," he then added "A mere 500 gold".

For that price he best be the finest swordsman in all of world, but if he was then he wouldn't need to hire out his services as he'd be able to make a fortune on his own doing stuff like hunting down bounties. Which was what I did when I needed some coin.

"Five hundred?!" Aela said in surprise "You could hire three of my people for that much".

And they'd be worth the price given how tough those SOBs were.

I crossed my arms and scrutinised him. Was I actually considering hiring him? Maybe I was too tired.

"Go away" I said "I just came here for a drink".

Finally the innkeeper came over, it was almost as if he'd been keeping his distance from the dark elf in the armour.

"Welcome to the Retching Netch" he said "Want some Sadri's Sujamma? Famous, you know".

After saying that I did the man behind the bar poured some liquid out of a jug into a stone mug, before he handed it to me. I tried it and found it to be some sort of strong spirit.

"We have a couple rooms free" the innkeeper was now saying.

This was good news. I badly wanted to get some sleep, and Aela hadn't gotten fucked in a couple of days, which no doubt meant she was eager for my cock. Her need to be pounded by me regularly was a strong one.

"Just the one room" I said "and we want plenty of food".

I was suddenly very hungry, and now that she didn't have to worry about seasickness I felt sure that the Huntress would also want something to eat.

"Is there a story behind the name?" Aela wished to know.

According to Geldis, the inn was named after an amusing incident he'd witnessed several years ago. One night, he saw one of his regular customers drunkenly singing and stumbling near the docks. As a netch approached him, he threw his bottle of sujamma at it. The bottle smashed on the back of the netch and it somehow became intoxicated before vomiting. Not the best thing to talk about having just ordered food so I took the Huntress over to a table so that we could wait for our dinner near the fire.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

It wasn't long after they'd rented a room at the inn, that was called the _Retching Netch, _that the Dragonborn decided to get some sleep. While they'd only just arrived here it was already getting dark as the ship hadn't made to the docks until late afternoon.

Now they were getting ready for the night and once Aela had taken off her armour off, leaving her naked, she went and sat on her lover's lap so that she could feel his growing arousal, which was something she liked to do. Gothic grunted as she shifted on his lap, to ensure that he really desired her, and of course he did, he always had the stamina for such things.

Then after placing her hands on his shoulders, Aela gently pushed her fellow warrior onto his back before moving down his body to pull his breeches down to his ankles, freeing his impressive looking erection, a sight the werewolf had never grown tired of seeing. She felt the need to please her mate, the beast within her responded the Dragonborn this way.

After taking a moment more to admire his manhood the Huntress took him in her mouth. Aela hummed as she skilfully took in every inch before beginning a slow bobbing motion of her head. She'd lost count of times she'd done this, and performing this act always aroused her.

Aela pulled her heavenly mouth off of his cock so that he could roll her tongue along the sides as she knelt next to the bed. She kept this up for several minutes until she felt the need to put his cock somewhere else that was warm and wet. She planned to do all the work while facing away from the Dragonborn so that he could admire her backside, as he liked to do, only she never got the chance.

The Huntress yelped in surprised when she was suddenly pulled back onto the bed and pinned under the fellow warrior, before she could protest this action, she saw the lust in his eyes and felt how effortlessly he could pin her down. This only increased her arousal, and so she submitted to getting fucked.

Her nails attempted to cut into his back as her body was used by him for his pleasure. Once she could have drawn blood, but the Dragonborn had become much more powerful as they'd travelled the land. Taking in the souls of dragons had given him a toughness beyond that of other mortals.

"Yes deeper" Aela panted.

There was little more she could do other than hold on as he fucked her, an act she always enjoyed. Gothic had become more aggressive when coupling as he grew stronger, and this made sense to the Huntress, the wolf in her knew that the strong should dominate the weak, and no one was stronger than the Dragonborn.

"Aela…I'm…" he struggled to tell her.

She knew what was coming, the gift of his seed, which again was something the wolf inside her desired, that primal mating lust took control as begged for him to finish inside her.

The Dragonborn fell on to the bed next once he was done, breathing heavily as he settled. Aela wrapped her body, which she could barely move, over her lover and went to sleep, they would need their rest as they had plenty to do on this island.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

I was at the blacksmith's little shop, looking over the few arrows he had for sale. There weren't many, but they'd have to do. I didn't want to Aela to run out if we ran into some monster out in the wilderness, and he was the only person that sold them in this town. The blacksmith, a large bald man, seemed to be in a foul mood the whole time I was there. Finally I asked what was the matter and he spoke to me on the subject.

"You haven't seen Crescius Caerellius have you?" he asked "That foolish old man's taken my pickaxe again! They don't exactly grow on trees, you know".

I figured that he might me taking about one of the special pickaxes used to mine the enchanted ice they had in these parts. I'd heard a little about that while eating at the inn last night.

"Please, if you see Crescius, tell him to give me that pickaxe back" the Blacksmith requested "I'll pay you for the trouble".

I could do with some more coin as I'd not brought that much with me. I always had chances to make more money. Unlike a flesh and blood dragon I didn't feel the need to horde treasure, I only kept a little stashed away in case it was needed.

"What's so special about this pickaxe that you want it back so badly?" Aela asked.

"It's the only tool tough enough to crack Stalhrim," he told the werewolf. "Not many of those beauties left in the world. Forging them is a lost art. The one Crescius "borrowed" came from the Skaal Village up north. I, uh, traded them some goods for it".

I frowned upon hearing that as I suspected that his acquiring of the pickaxe hadn't been totally honest, not that I was fit to judge such things, I'd not acquired everything I owned through honest means.

"Stalhrim's some kind of ore?" Aela asked.

I'd not told her about the material, it hadn't been a topic of conversation while on the way to the island. Although really it should have been since we'd discussed pretty much everything else on the way here. In fact it was part of Nord legend so she should know about it, and she must have heard someone mention last night as I had. There had to be something about this island that messed with people's memories.

"Calling stalhrim an ore is like calling my forge a campfire" said the Blacksmith "Some folks say it's "enchanted ice," but I think there's more to it than that".

Well it was a building material for weapons and armour in the game, assuming my memory about this was right, so maybe I could forge a cool sword or dagger with some of the stalhrim, and give the weapon a strong frost enchantment. I did so love magic swords.

"I assume it's rare" I asked.

The game was a much smaller scale than the real thing so there could be more of the stuff about in reality.

"I don't think I've come across more than a chunk or two in my lifetime, and smithing's my trade" I was told "If you're looking to learn more, you should head over to the Skaal Village. Someone there's bound to know more about it than I do".

That was part of my plans.

"I'll keep that in mind" I said "For now we'll track down this Crescius Caerellius".

There was quest involving that man I was sure, and were there was a quest there was a reward. Plus I wasn't so eager to rush to the temple I'd been told about. I had a feeling that should I rush through this adventure I'd regret it, and that once I was done here everything would change, so I should take a little time for adventure here while I had to chance.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

When I asked around about Crescius Caerellius, everyone pointed me to the closed mine as the place he was most likely to be found. I headed up there, my werewolf in tow, and pulled open the old wooden door. It creaked loudly as we both stepped into the dark tunnels. The only light came from the lanterns that hung up on the rough stone walls. Around us were some old crates that were marked with the sign of the East Empire Company, sat scattered about.

Ahead of us, I heard two voices arguing.

"Damn it, woman! I said to leave me be!" a man was saying.

Clearly a domestic argument of some sort was taking place here.

"Crescius, last time you explored the mine you almost fell to your death" said a woman, "I'm not spending the rest of my days as a widow!".

While I normally wouldn't listen to such debates, or interrupt them, I did have business with Crescius Caerellius.

"And I'm telling you that I'll do whatever it takes to find my great-grandfather's remains" the man was now saying "He's down there, I can feel it."

The two speakers stood facing each other at the other end of the room ahead. One was an old Imperial man, the other a Dunmer woman.

"That was almost two centuries ago," she persisted. "There may be nothing left to find".

Crescius Caerellius simply wasn't willing to listen.

"Just let me go, woman!" he yelled.

"Crescius, you're an obstinate old fool and you're going to get yourself killed!" the woman yelled

She stormed past me and out of the mine, as she did the Imperial man noticed us.

"Who in the blazes are you? Can't you see I'm busy?" Crescius Caerellius said.

There was no sign of the pickaxe, not that I wanted the quest to be this easy as if I remembered correctly there was an old mine here and magical items, there were always magical items to be found.

"Doing what?" I questioned

"Why should I tell you? I don't even know who you are" said Crescius Caerellius.

He was clearly not in the best of moods.

"I might be able to help" I offered.

The man took a moment to collect himself, and then like many others before him he decided to lay all his problems at my feat. Something about me caused this to happened rather often. Had to be a Dragonborn thing.

"I do need help" admitted Crescius Caerellius "Been difficult trusting people lately. They all think I'm crazy. But mark my words; these mines hold a secret that could put Raven Rock back on the map".

That did sound interesting.

"What sort of secret?" Aela wished to know.

Crescius now seemed eager to talk

"A secret the East Empire Company swept under the rug two centuries ago" he confided "It killed my great-grandfather, and left Raven Rock with a tainted mine".

I couldn't recall much about this quest so I was eager to learn more.

"Who was your great-grandfather?" I enquired.

"Gratian Caerellius" answered Crescius Caerellius "He spent his entire life exploring ancient ruins across Tamriel and died in these very mines almost two hundred years ago".

No matter how much exploring of ancient ruins went on there always seemed to be more left undiscovered and unlooted. Must be the will of the Divines. Perhaps they liked watching people like me brave danger for the chance of a great reward.

"How?" I wondered.

Crescius frowned and I could see his mood darken.

"The East Empire Company called it "a terrible accident," claiming that he was lost in a rock fall, but I know better" he said.

Perhaps he was murdered in order to cover something up. People in power tended to do that sort of thing.

"What do you have for proof?" I asked.

We soon found out.

"My wife and I were cleaning out our family home, and we came across some of my great-grandfather's things locked in an old chest" Crescius Caerellius told us "I found an unsent letter he'd written to the East Empire Company and a key".

Now this did sound like a mystery.

"Well, what did the letter say?" was my follow up question.

By this point Crescius Caerellius felt eager to share.

"It describes a discovery that was made in the mine by some of the diggers," he explained. "They wanted Gratian to take a closer look. The East Empire Company must have felt it was of great value, as they locked up that section of the mine off from everyone else".

A company wouldn't seal off part of a profitable mine unless they really had to.

"So the key is for that locked area?" I asked.

Crescius paused for a moment and shrugged.

"Well, I assume it is. I haven't been able to find the entrance" he admitted "I know I don't have much to go on. I have that unsent letter, and that's really it, other than a miner's instinct that's been a trait in my family from before Gratian was even born. I may sound like a crazy old man to you, but I'm telling you, the tunnels here are solid. They would never collapse like that".

I could sense his honesty, it was in his eyes, however that only meant that he believed in what he was saying, not that it was true. Still I knew that there was more going on here than it might seem, there nearly always was in this world.

"Well it does sound a bit suspicious," I admitted "I think the company covered something up".

Crescius laughed.

"Finally! Someone who believes me" he half yelled "I'm telling you, there's something big down there, something that the East Empire Company wanted to hide from everyone, but, my wife nags me, telling that I'm too old to go traipsing around these mines at my age. Time's my enemy. It's caught up with me before I could find the answers that I'm looking for. But I want to know what happened to Gratian, and what the East Empire Company is keeping from all of us".

It looked like I was going to go delving into the mine. Could be fun.

"Any idea where I should start?" I asked.

As luck would have it he did.

"Gratian kept a journal of notes about his discoveries. If you can find his… remains, I'm hoping it will help" said the old man as he passed me some stuff "Here's everything I have. The letter, the key".

There had be something of value down there so I might as well go look.

"Please, do this for me so I can finally regain the respect that I've lost" Crescius Caerellius pleaded.

After pocketing the letter and the key, I climbed down the nearby ladder that led deeper into the mine, Aela soon followed. It was pitch black down there, so I popped on one of my magical rings. I'd been rewarded often and well for my work, and I'd spent some of that fortune on stuff like enchanted rings that when worn would let us see in the dark. Aela needed one to as even werewolves couldn't see in the dark, as for their superior senses of smell and hearing, they had their limits.

Now that I could see everything I saw that tough stone walls surrounded me and as I moved I heard the wooden boards that wound down further into the depths creak and groan beneath our feet. I also noted the pieces of mining equipment lying around down here and there were all covered with cobwebs. None of them looked like they'd been touched in years, and none of it had any value to me so I left the stuff alone.

As a pair Aela and I went further down, and before long I felt my feet met the cold stone floor of the pit, and soon we headed into one of the tunnels that branched off from the main shaft. The bottom of the tunnel dead-ended in a wall that was covered with wooden planks. At first I thought that it might have just been there as way of keeping the mind shaft from collapsing only when I tapped my knuckles against the planks, sure enough there was an empty space behind them.

Aela and I ripped the boards away with ease. Then I soon saw that there was another tunnel and, blocking that, an old iron gate. I stepped up to the newly-revealed passage, brushing away the cobwebs that hung in my path. Taking out the key, I inserted it into the gate's lock. It turned and the gate opened with a shrill creak.

The tunnel on the other side quickly turned into something a little unexpected. Before long the mine's uneven walls were replaced with cut stone which were decorated with swirling designs, the likes of which I'd only ever seen in ancient Nordic tombs. Sure enough, burial alcoves lined either side of the hall. Also of note the ruin was partially flooded; water sloshed around my feet as I walked.

Was this what they'd called in Crescius's great-grandfather down into the mine for? Because they'd found some old ruin? There didn't seem to be anything special down here other than the ruin itself, and there was no sign of Gratian Caerellius or anything else of importance. Just some old draugr, and these weren't the moving type so I ignored them, not wanting to bother the dead.

We soon came across a large cavern that was lined with stone columns. Twin waterfalls fell from the ceiling, the water running off somewhere to the right. Between them, lit braziers illuminated stairs that led up to some kind of round door, clearly magical fires. Just before it I could make out what looked like a skeleton.

Carefully I made my way down to the skeleton knowing that Aela would follow like a good hound. As I walked, I noticed the mummified bodies of several draugr around the cave as well as another skeleton lying at the foot of the stairs. I skirted around it and up onto the raised area.

The skeleton in front of the door lay on top of a tattered old bedroll. There was an old lantern sat beside it, along with several potion bottles, a quill, an inkwell, a satchel, a very strange looking sword, and a leather-bound journal. I knelt down and picked it up, carefully turning the old pages so I didn't tear them.

_30 Rain's Hand 4E10_

_Received a letter from the East Empire Company today. They say that some of the miners broke through the wall in shaft three of Raven Rock Mine and found some ruins. I hope this isn't another waste of time like that fiasco they sent me to in Cyrodiil. I'll gather my assistant, Millius, and sail back to Raven Rock at first light… it'll be nice to see the old house in Solstheim again._

Well, I'd found Gratian's journal, his grandson would want it I felt sure. I flipped through the journal reading about the Nordic ruins for a bit, and something about the "Bloodskal clan" which I had never heard a word about before now. Not that this meant much with my memory acting up.

_11 Second Seed 4E10_

_It's been an astonishing day of discovery! After exploring the large chamber beyond the drop off, I was startled to find the strangest weapon I've ever laid eyes upon sitting on a pedestal of sorts. The blade appears to be flawless, and is emitting a faint chilling glow. Bits of parchment I found about the chamber seem to call this "The Bloodskal Blade." Not certain if I should remove it yet. I think I'll sleep on it._

_12 Second Seed 4E10_

_I've decided against my own better judgement to remove the Bloodskal Blade from its pedestal. Millius seems completely against it, but we need to bring this wondrous artefact with us when we find a way out of the barrow._

_13 Second Seed 4E10_

_I should have listened to Millius. The moment the blade was lifted, we were set upon by draugr. Millius fought bravely, but he fell. I was able to destroy the remaining ones, but I was badly wounded. I can barely stand. My only chance would be finding a way out of this place, but I fear that I'm trapped._

_14? Second Seed 4E10_

_Exploring has been slow. I can only move for maybe a few minutes at a time before I have to rest. My supplies are running low, and I'm feeling weaker by the hour. The only progress I've made is finding a strange door with markings on it that I've never seen. There appears to be something to them I'm missing, as they've confounded my attempts at getting through. I'll have to study this further in order to make any progress… barely can keep awake. I'm fairly certain that the key to the door involves the use of the Bloodskal Blade. When swinging the weapon, I'm noticing a ribbon of mystical energy emanating from it. I think by swinging the sword in different directions, it's possible to manipulate this ribbon and solve whatever puzzle this door presents. I hope to get well enough to put this to the test soon… each swing is a huge effort._

By now I'd come to the last entry.

_I've lost track of time and my strength is fading. I can't even stand anymore. My wounds refuse to heal. I'm afraid this tomb will become my resting place. If anyone finds this journal, please send these notes to my superiors at the East Empire Company and tell my wife that I love her._

_May Arkay guide me to my final rest._

I closed the journal and pocketed, intending to return it to the man who had sent me on this quest. Then I picked up the "Bloodskal Blade" from its place next to the pile of bones. It was heavy and did indeed have something magical about it as the journal mentioned. Assuming that I could get it out of here it should sell for a pretty penny.

Looking up, I saw that the markings on the stone door seemed to be glowing as well. Brightest of all was the one that ran right down the middle. It also seemed to be pulsing slightly.

Gratian mentioned in his notes that he thought the blade was the key, and that it released some kind of energy. Hefting it, I swung the sword. Sure enough, a flash of red light shot from the blade and hit the mark running down the door. The lights died the moment they touched and, with a loud grinding sound, the door split apart.

"Well that was easy" I said.

How had Gratian not been able to figure this out when it had taken me seconds? Well not everyone could be as clever as me, and perhaps my vague memories of the game had helped. Still it would be best to leave now rather than to tempt fate and somehow end up stuck down here.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

After escaping the Barrow, which had involved slaying the Dragon Priest Zahkriisos, and taking his mask, Aela made our way back to the town so that we could end this quest.

"You're back!" Crescius cried out when he saw us.

He'd returned to his house, which was where we'd found him, after getting directions from another rude guard, a resource this island wasn't lacking in.

"Please, tell me what you found" he requested.

I reached into my pouch of holding.

"You were right," I said, holding out the journal to him, returning the key and the letter as well.

He took it from me and flipped through the pages.

"Ha, I knew it! Gratian's death wasn't because of a rockfall. It was just a story to keep people away from the tombs" he said "Now that I have his journal in hand, I can get some closure from the East Empire Company. Make them pay for lying to everyone".

I didn't think that would happen as large companies had ways of getting out of trouble. Not that this was my concern. I'd done what I had set out to do by going into the mine and now I had another cool sword for my collection of enchanted weapons, most of which were stashed away somewhere. I'd lost some cool stuff when I'd separated from the Blades, but I could get that stuff back if I really wanted to.

"Thank you" the man said to me "Now, I believe I owe you a little more than a debt of gratitude for all that work you did".

Given the cool sword I'd gotten there was no need for further reward, but I should get the item I'd actually come for.

"I want the pickaxe" I said "The blacksmith's. He wants it back".

Crescius scowled upon hearing that.

"The damn fool doesn't even deserve to have it!" the old man stated "The pickaxe was made for mining, not selling. I'll bet he stole it from the Skaal in the first place".

I didn't exactly doubt that.

"Even if that is the case you know it doesn't belong to you either" I pointed out.

The two of us just started at each other for a moment.

"Oh, very well," he relented with a sigh.

Going over to one of the barrels in the corner, he pulled an ancient pickaxe from behind it. Handing to me, he said,

"Here. Tell him I hope he drops the thing on his foot" said the old man.

I left the house and hurried up the street. The blacksmith, who had been sharpening a blade, looked up at my approach.

"Got it," I said, holding it up for him to see.

He snorted in amusement.

"So, you tracked down old Crescius, eh" the then said "Quite a character, isn't he?".

That was one way of putting it.

"He seemed nice enough" I replied.

The blacksmith rolled his eyes at that.

"If you say so. Tell you what. Since you went through all the trouble of finding it for me and all, you keep it" the man offered.

Hearing this surprised me.

"After all that? Why?" I asked.

The Blacksmith shrugged.

"I just wanted to remind that codger you can't just go around taking things from other people. Now that you've delivered the message, I'm satisfied" he told me "Besides, that pickaxe hasn't done me any good in years. Maybe you can put it to good use".

Maybe I could.


	3. Solstheim 3

**Dragonborn Gothic 2 - Solstheim **

**Part 3**

**Temple. Solstheim.**

The area around Miraak's temple showed many signs of ongoing renovation, with scaffolding and stone pillars being raised all around. The fact that an age-old temple was being rebuilt by zombie like people who were all chanting the same words, was to me a good indication that we were on the right track.

Miraak certainly had a presence here in Solstheim, and was working hard on making that presence spread. During my time in Raven Rock I'd learned a little more about this Miraak character, and what little I'd found out so far, as sources were limited, had me worried.

For starters Miraak was dead. He'd been dead for thousands of years. Of course this wasn't the first time someone had tried to kill me, despite having been dead for a very long time, this was a bad habit of the dragon priests that I sometimes encountered, but none had quite the same history as Miraak, or the level of power.

He'd dropped off the map around the first Era, under very vague circumstances. Why he hadn't been seen or heard of since, and why he suddenly was so prevalent in Solstheim right now raised some important questions. So important that I'd come to this temple despite not being sure what I'd find here.

The pair of us walked up to the top of the structure, looking for any sort of entrance, as we moved around we heard the clanging of metal on stone, the telltale sound of more enthralled workers slaving away, they didn't react to our presence, and I didn't think it wise to bring them out of their trances by force without first finding out more about them.

Before long we came across someone who wasn't basically a zombie. She had sandy blonde hair, and there were two war axes hanging off her hip. She clutched one of the workers, a local Nord who wore a lot of fur, and shouted at him while shaking the man.

"Ysra! Can you hear hear me?!" she yelled.

Even from a distance I could see that the worker made no reaction. He simply stared blankly back at her, waiting for the woman to release him so that he could return to their toil.

Aela and walked down towards her and she heard us coming, and I noted that she was wary of us. Her hands strayed close to the handles of her axes. They seemed to be made of some strange kind of stone. A deep, crystal blue, must be that magical ice stuff I'd heard so much about.

The woman was easy on the eyes. Her hair was braided in a practical way in order to keep it out of her face. Her figure, while hidden under her armour, and furs, must be worth seeing. Her skin was pale like most Nords, and she had intense eyes.

"You two. What brings you to this place?" she demanded to know "Why are you here?"

Aela reacted the to slight level hostility displayed by this woman by placing herself between the Nord female and myself. Perhaps she'd registered my attraction and felt jealous. Not that she needed to as I'd fucked other women before, and she'd even joined in a few times. Still her feeling territorial over her man wasn't wrong.

"You first" the Huntress said.

They started at each other until the Nord woman gave in.

"I am Frea of the Skaal," she said. "I am here to either save my people or avenge them".

So the people here, the ones in the layers of furs must be her tribe.

"Save them from what?" I asked.

Frea hesitated, as if she struggled to form an answer.

"I an unsure" she admitted to us "Something has taken control of the people here on Solstheim. It makes them forget themselves. All they do is work on these horrible creations that corrupt the stones, and the very land itself. My father Storn, our Shaman, says Miraak has returned to Solstheim, but that is impossible".

Alas it wasn't.

"I've encountered people who can exist in this world after death" I told the woman "Not that you'd call them alive".

Frankly I'd rather hang out in the afterlife with the other warriors than try to escape death as lich. Feasting and drinking the local version of Valhalla to the end of time would be better than hanging out in a tomb for thousands of years with only zombies for company.

"I'm Gothic, and this is Aela" I said to Frea, answering her earlier question "Miraak tried to have me killed. I'm here to make sure that it doesn't happen again".

While I'd not admitted this to the guy down at the port who'd asked about my business on this island I didn't think omitting any truth would be a wise course of action at this time.

"Then we share a goal to see what lies beneath us" said the local woman "Let us go. There is nothing more I can do here. The Stome and my friends are beyond my help for now. We need to find a way into the temple below".

Sounded like a good idea to me.

"What do you know about Miraak?" I asked.

By now we were moving again.

"His story is as old as Solstheim itself" she replied "He served the dragons before they fell from power, like many. He was a priest in their order".

A Dragon Priest as I'd suspected. They woken up when their master had returned so it made sense that this Miraak had become active again.

"But unlike most, he turned against them" we were soon told "He made his own path, and his actions cost him dearly. The stories say he sought to claim Solstheim for himself, and the dragons destroyed him for it"

This part of the story I'd not heard before or expected to her.

"Wait, he turned against the dragons?" I asked "I didn't even know Dragon Priests could do that".

The ones I'd learned about were all fanatics, and even death hadn't stopped them from carrying on with their duties.

"It's what my father told me, and he's never been wrong" said the woman in furs "Miraak must have had a very important reason to betray them".

At this point we found a section of the platform that was sunk into the ground, which revealed a walkway stretching down. The entrance was guarded by a small group of cultists.

"For Lord Miraak!" one of them shouted, drawing his weapon.

The others followed suit, and charged at right at us. I sighed, annoyed about meeting even more suicidal idiots who wanted me to kill the, and then drew my weapon. One cultist came for me, the other two each attacking Frea and Aela respectively.

The cultist I faced fired a firebolt at me, but I blocked with a magical ward. Now closer the cultist raised his sword in a two-handed grip intending to bring it down with as much force as possible. This was almost too easy, the bad guys never had any proper minions.

I moved fast considering the weight of my armour, thanks to enchantments, and the cultist's sword ended up swinging down into empty air, but my flaming blade found its mark, so the cultist died at my feet, lying in a rapidly widening pool of crimson fluid.

"You two fight well" said the local woman, once we were done "We shall succeed together".

With that we headed inside.

(Line Break)

**Temple. Solstheim.**

"All-maker..." Frea softly muttered, while taking a step towards the podium. "What is that?"

I sheathed my sword and walked up to the book. It was a big book, a little too big, as if it hadn't been made to be read by humans. It was a deep black in colour, and it had a feeling about it, that I could only called unholy, yet despite this I was drawn to it.

"Do you feel that?" Aela asked me.

Indeed I could.

"The book is wrong somehow" I said.

I took another step toward it, and I realised that this had to be a daedric artifact of some kind

"This book… it seems wrong, somehow. Here, and yet… not" said the local woman.

That did describe it rather well.

"You think it's what we're looking for?" Aela queried. "Will it explain how Miraak is controlling people all over the island?".

This book had to be connected to the dragon priest who wanted me dead, and I did need to know more about him, and there was something about the book, drawing me to it.

"It was placed at the bottom of this temple for a reason," Frea stated.

As I reached for the book, my companion stopped me.

"Hold on," she said quickly. "You sure you want to do this?"

There were mixed feelings involved.

"I'm sure it'll be fine" I said "It's just a book".

As soon as it was open, huge black tentacles burst from the page and wrapped around me. Then with a huge tug, I was pulled off my feet and dragged into some sort of darkness.

(Line Break)

**Apocrypha. Realms of Oblivion.**

At first, when my eyes opened I couldn't see anything, but I did notice that the air felt warm, and smelt like oil. When I could open my eyes I saw a world made up of green and black. The sky was a churning mix of green and black, with huge tentacles the size of castles hanging down from the centre of larger black spots. The ground was made of cracked tiles, and there were strange spires and structures all over the place. The entire place felt wrong to me.

"Lovecraftian" I muttered.

Also there were living things here, not counting the tentacle monsters in the distance. One was a large, pale-blue dragon. Two of the others were strange, more human sized, floating monsters that had flailing tentacles. The fourth was a man, or something man shaped, who wore dark green robes, with some gold metal in places.

"The time comes soon when… wait..."

I had my sword halfway out of its sheathe by the time the man turned around. I could see the golden mask the man wore now, and I knew at once who this person was. It had to be Miraak, I could feel him, he was Dragonborn, and a quick one too he was already preparing to cast a spell.

There was barely any time for me to bring up a ward before a dual-cast lightening attack slammed into it, and my ward fell very quickly. The sheer force of the attack made me stumble backwards, but it didn't stop me for long as I was a tough cookie.

The lightening attack gave Miraak enough time to draw his own sword, and raise it to block the dragonbone blade that I tried to strike him down with it. As our weapons met I saw that his was made of a strange metal, which almost seemed alive, it even moved.

"Who are you to dare set foot here?" Miraak demanded to know.

If I could sense him then he should be able to sense me.

"You should know" I answered "After all you tried to have me killed".

Without warning Miraak kicked me in the chest with such immense strength that I found myself knocked to the ground.

"You are Dragonborn" he was now saying "I can feel it".

Now he seemed to be taking me more seriously, I could tell this by his posture,

"You really should've sent more than a few brainwashed idiots to try to kill me" I said.

Our blades clashed again and again as we tried our best to kill each other, it rapidly became clear to me that this new foe was a batter fighter than me, so I changed tactics.

_"Fus!"_

The dragon priest staggered back, and then returned the favour. A moment later I smacked into the ground

"I can see how you defeated Alduin, young Dragonborn" said the bad guy as I got back up "I could have slain him myself, back when I walked the earth, but I chose a different path."

This amused me.

"From what I've heard the dragons kicked your ass when you tried to stand up to them" I reminded my foe "Isn't that why your temple needs to be rebuilt?".

I sent a fireball at Miraak, who raised his own ward of protection.

"That matters not anymore. I have grown beyond my past self, and certainly beyond you" he replied "You have no idea of the true power a Dragonborn can wield".

This was when he decided to show me that power.

_"Mul Qah Diiv!"_

Rays of light similar to the kind that flowed from a dead Dragon's corpse rushed out of Miraak, collecting at his feet for half a second, then rushed back towards him and seemed to attach to places on his body. The light reshaped itself into pieces of gold and blue ethereal armour that were now around his head, chest and arms. The armour did seem dragon like what with the horns.

Miraak traded blows with me again, and now his strength was well beyond my own, it was all I could do to block his blows. After a sort time he drove me to my knees and while he could have finished me off, for some reason he did not.

I tried to summon up some help in the form a Daedra, only nothing happened.

"This realm is beyond you" he said "You have no power here".

While he spoke I reached for my sword, which I had dropped, but the other Dragonborn had already moved out of range.

"It's only a matter of time before Solstheim is mine, followed by everything else on Nirn." Mirrak continued by saying "I already control the minds of its people, and when they soon finish building my temple, I can return home. Nothing will change that, least of all you".

At this point Miraak walked away from me, towards the waiting dragon.

"Send him back where he came from" he ordered "He can await my return with the rest of Tamriel".

The pair of floating, grey-green monsters moved towards me as I got up off the ground. I got to my knees before the two monsters seemed to 'push' at the air, and rings of bright green lightning rushed out of their bodies to envelop me. These waves of energy hit my body again and again, the pain was so intense. Then I blacked out.

(Line Break)

**Village. Solstheim.**

When I woke up I found myself in a pleasant looking wooden cottage The room was pleasantly warm, and I could hear the faint crackle of a wood fuelled fire. Slowly I tried to sit up, but my muscles wouldn't do the job that they were suppose to do.

At least I was able to move my head from side to side, an action which allowed me to take in my surroundings. As I'd already known I was in a small yet comfortable hut, that was big enough for a table, a bed, and a chest. To my right was a stone fireplace. To my left was Aela, she was asleep in a chair. I figured that she'd been there for quite some time as someone had placed a blanket over her.

I had no idea how long I'd been in this bed, clearly I'd needed time to recover after what had happened to me, and now that I was awake I could use my magic to heal myself, which made a little different for my sore muscles, but I still felt weak.

As I got up so did Aela, her keen senses alerting her to my movement even while she was asleep, which was why werewolves were really hard to sneak up on.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Frea's village," Aela told me "After you read that book you got sucked inside it. A few minutes later it spat you out, unconscious and half-dead. Frea lead the way out, while I carried you".

That must have been an odd sight. Aela was very strong, but she wasn't that big, were as I'd put on a lot of muscle during my time in Skyrim my armour felt heavy to those who weren't used to such weight.

"What happened when you were inside that book?" I was asked.

I did my best to explain the very strange world that I'd seen, the creatures I'd encountered, and Miraak.

"He's a Dragonborn" I said.

Given how rare such people were conformation came as a surprise to the Huntress.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

Indeed I was.

"I thought you were supposed to be the last?" said Aela.

After giving the matter some thought I spoke again.

"I still am" I told her "Miraak somehow avoided death. I think it must have something to do with the Realm of Oblivion I was transported to. From what I know about them those worlds they aren't governed the same rules as this world is. Time might not mean much there".

That must have been a Realm of Oblivion I'd been to, but which one. I felt that I should know, yet somehow the knowledge was denied to me.

"The leader of these people will want to hear about this" Aela said to me "Can you get up?".

As it turned out I could. Someone must have worked their healing mojo on me, and after I put my armour on, which had been taken off me at some point, I got outside and soon saw that some sort of magic was being used to formed some kind of semi-transparent dome around the village.

Frea's home wasn't a big place as it turned out. Really it was just a small cluster of wooden buildings, with a well and a forge in the middle. It looked cosy, and I got the impression that this isolated community liked to keep to itself. Although they couldn't be too xenophobic if they'd allowed both Aela and myself to come here.

As for Frea she was leaning against the wall of the cabin I'd been brought to after I'd been thrown out of that Realm of Oblivion.

"You're up sooner than I expected," she stated "Come, we must speak to my father, Storn".

She led us over to the huddle of people who were performing the spell that I assumed was somehow keeping this village safe. As we got closer, one of them, the oldest man there, looked up at me.

"I see the traveller has awoken" Storn said in a gravelly voice. "Do you have news from the temple other than what my daughter told me? Is there a way to free my people?"

Not that I knew about.

"All I can do is tell you that a man called Miraak is behind all of the troubles on the island" I replied.

Storn hung his head as if defeat.

"I feared that would be so" he said.

"But how is that possible?" Frea asked "After all this time?".

"There is too much we do not yet know" said Storn with a sigh

He looked weary. If he'd been maintaining this barrier I could see why.

"How did you find out Miraak is behind our struggle?" I was asked.

"I opened a strange book" I let the old man known "It took me to a plane of Oblivion. Miraak was there, we fought he won, he's trying to get back to this world"

Storn looked the ground, now he looked even more defeated that before.

"Legends speak of that temple, and that there was something buried beneath it worse than the dragons that razed it to the ground" he was now saying "What you say confirms those legends, and my fears. Miraak was never truly gone, and now has returned".

No one spoke for a few moments.

"Are you like Miraak?" the village elder asked of me "Are you Dragonborn?"

I nodded.

"Yes. I am" I said.

The old man rubbed his beard.

"You must be connected to him, if that case," Storn was now saying "The stories say he too was Dragonborn".

He didn't need to tell me that I'd been able to sense his power.

"What do you mean by connected?" I enquired.

Storn looked hesitant, as if he didn't really want to answer my question.

"I am unsure" he said "It may mean you could save us, or it could mean that you will bring about our destruction. But that doesn't matter right now. Our time is running out. We cannot protect ourselves for much longer. You must go to Saering's Watch, and learn the word that Miraak learned there long ago. It will give you the same knowledge over the stones as he has".

There must be a Word Wall up there.

"How will that free your people?" Aela wondered.

A good question.

"The structures being built around the shrines corrupt the mind" the old man explained "I believe if they can be destroyed, the 'trance' that has befallen the workers will be lifted".

Well it was better than standing around here not doing anything.

(Line Break)

**Saering's Watch. Solstheim**

The dragon let out one last roar, and collapsed to the ground just as the flame atronach that Gothic had summoned as a distraction, faded away. The beast was dead Frea felt sure of this so she could only marvel as she watched the corpse of the beast begin to burn as if it was somehow being cremated.

"Something's wrong" said the Dragonborn.

The body lit up like a bonfire, the energies were released, the creature's soul Frea assumed, but they didn't move towards Gothic as she expected them to. The dragon soul flowed out of the creature's body, to a spot some distance away to be absorbed by someone else. Miraak.

Frea didn't hesitate. As soon as he saw the man who'd brought some much suffering on her people she tried to slay him, only her weapon passed harmlessly through the space that housed Miraak's head. The man wasn't actually present.

"It takes a strong will to command a Dragon's soul." Miraak said, ignoring Aela and Frea so that he could focus his attention on his fellow Dragoborn "Perhaps you aren't as powerful as you think".

"You bastard" Frea said "Face us coward".

The ancient evil ignored her, as if she was of no concern.

"Hermaeus Mora has told me much about you" stated the Miraak "We will met again when I return, and I will, then I will kill you".

Aela stepped forward as if to shield her mate.

"You won't lay a hand on him" she threatened.

Miraak chuckled as the the Huntress were an amusing child rather than a deadly warrior

"Your dog is loyal, Dragonborn" he said.

Aela emitted a guttural sound.

"Don't give him what he wants" Gothic instructed. "We're leaving".

Once they were away from the spectral form the Dragonborn spoke again.

"Right now there's nothing we can do to him" he said "The only thing we can do is find the Word Wall so that we can free the people he's enslaved".

He could still learn the word Frea understood, which meant there was still hope for her people.

(Line Break)

**Earth-Stone. ****Solstheim**

I stood before one of the All-Maker Stones, which named after the All-Maker, who was the creator god of Frea's people. They were magical upright stones that were dotted around the island of Solstheim. From what Frea had told me as we travelled here these magical objects were an important part of the Skaal faith, as they believed that the Stones maintain the oneness of the land.

As for me I saw them as something similar in nature to Skyrim's standing stones, as well as Cyrodiil's rune stones, if they were made by gods or some mortals long ago I didn't know, and right now it hardly mattered as I'd come here to free the people here who'd been enslaved not to study the fancy rocks.

As soon as I used the first part of the Bend Will Shout the people here that had been toiling away came out of their trance just in time to run away from a monster that suddenly appeared. It was a suitably terrifying creature, like some twisted thing made up of a giant, a fish, and a Chaurus, and to make matters worse it had a mouth full of tentacles. As it reared up to its full height, which was about the same as a two story building, it emitted a blood-curdling roar.

"All Maker!" cried Frea in horror, while drawing her axes.

The monster turned to swipe at local woman as she charged at it, but a fireball sent by me smacked into the side of its head and momentarily stunned it, giving the local woman a chance to strike with her weapons before she backed off. Her attacks did no noticeable damage, however my magic did seem to hurt the monster and when I hit with another spell it turned towards the source of the harm, which was me, just in time to take another fireball to the face.

At this point I drew my dragonbone sword, which I'd somehow managed to hold onto while getting thrown out of that Realm of Oblivion, and ran forward. The creature lurched toward me, intending to end my life with its massive claws.

Soon enough the monster was right in front of me. It swung a spiked arm my way, but I dropped to my knees so that the limb went sailing past my head. Which granted me a moment in which to act. I slashed with my enchanted weapon. The monster roared in what I guessed to be pain and anger.

After that I quickly put some distance between myself and the monster as Aela fired an arrow at the creature. By now it was staggering around. Suddenly one of Aela's arrows struck it in one of the creature's eyes. Which it did not enough. Now it partly blinded by an arrow, and distracted by pain, which gave me a chance to strike.

_"Fus!"_

The Shout smacked into the monster and transferred enough force that the creature lost its balance. With a surprised grunt, the dark beast fell onto its back with a hard crash, and its long arms scrabbled at the ground in an effort to get back onto its feet.

It didn't get the chance as Frea and I were suddenly next to it, and we began hacking the monster with our weapons. It shuddered and gurgled, spluttering foul-smelling blood, before finally going limp. I breathed out a deep sigh of relief as I placed a foot against the thing's head, and wrenched out my sword from its already decomposing body.

Once I'd done that I looked around. I saw that both Frea and Aela were standing just a short way away. They both looked worried and confused. I didn't think either of them had ever seen such a creature until day I couldn't recall seeing one either, but if this thing was connected to Miraak then I couldn't depend on my memory.

"Is everyone Okay?" I asked.

Both of the woman nodded.

"Right lets head to the other stones" I decided "They'll be more of those creatures I'm sure so be ready for a fight".

(Line Break)

**Village. Skyrim.**

"We've cleansed all of the stones" I reported upon returning to speak with the Elder.

Storn nodded, and I got the sense that he'd been aware of this before I'd reported the fact. Which turned out to be the case.

"I can feel it" he said "The balance of the living land has nearly been restored. I doubt it will fully stop what Miraak is planning, but it may slow his progress".

While this was a good start much more would need to be done in order to stop my new rival.

"So any idea of how to stop Miraak once and for all?" I asked.

Storn sighed, and rubbed his forehead, he was clearly under a lot of pressure.

"I cannot help with that. There are none here who can" he said to me "You will need the same knowledge Miraak himself learned. You will need to learn more about the 'Black Books'. They are dark things, unnatural. I would have nothing to do with them, but the Dark Elf Wizard, Neloth, he is another matter".

He must be referring to the mage I'd briefly met when I'd first come to the island.

"I met him at Raven's Rock a while ago, he was studying one of the stones" I told the Elder.

The old man was not surprised by this little bit of information.

"I feel that man has too much interest in the magics behind Miraak's work" said Storn "and too little interest in the evils of it. Seek him out to the south, but be cautious, Dragonborn. There is something else at work here".

By that I assumed he was referring to whatever creature was behind why no one seemed to be able to remember much about Miraak when asked, and why my own memory of these events seemed incomplete. I found it very unsettling and I hoped that I'd find some way of dealing with the problem.

"Well then, I'm off to see the wizard" I stated.

Storn called out to me just as I was about to leave.

"Dragonborn?"

I turned to face the Elder.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Beware" he warned "You are now walking the same road as Miraak".

That didn't sound at all, and since I had nothing to say in response I left the simple dwelling. Once outside I was met by Aela.

"Do we know where we're going?" she asked.

Indeed we did.

"You remember that mage we saw when we arrived who was studying one of the stones?" I asked.

Given the problems people on this island were having with memory she might not, but as it turned out she did. Which was actually encouraging as it might mean he had nothing to do with Miraak, who seemed to be the common theme around the messed with memories, at least for the most part.

"We've got to go find him along the south side of the island" I told the Huntress "Apparently he knows more about those black books".

She frowned.

"Why do we need them?" she asked "The last time you used one you nearly died".

A fair point.

"I don't think all of them are a direct conduit to Miraak" I told her, while trying to convince myself "Others will help me learn the same things he must know, and I need that knowledge if I'm going to beat him".

Aela clearly didn't approve, but she didn't try to talk me out of this course of action.

"Are we ready to go?" she asked.

This was when Frea came over to us.

"I was speaking to my father" she said "and we both believe I should go with you to this 'Neloth'. Acquiring the knowledge Miraak has won't be an easy task, and I want to provide assistance wherever I can".

Most likely the village elder wanted someone to keep an eye on me, encase I did become too much like Miraak, and became a threat the native Nords. However that didn't mean Frea wouldn't be of us to me as she did know this island and wasn't a bad fighter.

"The more the merrier" I told her.

Once we'd made sure we had enough supplies we'd head back to Raven Rock and find out more about the mage we needed to find.


	4. Solstheim 4

**Dragonborn Gothic 2 - Solstheim**

**Part 4**

**Raven Rock. Solstheim.**

As a group we made our way back to Raven Rock, arriving in town without any difficulty being encountered along the way. Once there I sent the two women I now travelled with to go get some supplies for the adventures to come while the guard captain came over to talk to me. When he spoke to me he sounded much more friendly than anyone else around here here had, aside from the Blacksmith and that old Imperial who'd wanted to me find out what happened to Great-Grandfather.

"Second Councillor Arano has been watching you and your friends" I was informed "He must like what he sees as I was told he has something he could use your aid with".

Since I could be on this island for a while as I had no idea when my fellow Dragonborn would make his move, I figured that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to make some allies here, and even if events involving Miraak did progress faster than expected I might still linger in this land for a while once he was dealt with.

"I'll head over to talk with him immediately" I promised.

With that I headed over to the council chambers. Once there I found Adril Arano waiting for me.

"Ah, good you're here," said Arano, "I need help with a delicate matter".

I figured that I should at least hear him out.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"I'll get straight to the point," said Arano, not beating around the bush "I believe that there may be a deathmark placed upon Councillor Morvayn's head. I suspect that the culprits may be the Ulen family of House Hlaalu".

Well that sounded serious even if I didn't understand the politics behind the move.

"I would like you to listen around town, see if you can pick up on any suspicious activity," instructed Arano.

This was the kind of thing I'd done before back in Skyrim, and the best to go for information was always the nearest drinking establishment.

"I'll get on it right away" I promised.

Soon I left the council chambers, and headed for the place anyone would go if they needed information: the local tavern. The Retching Netch. I headed inside, and down the the bar in the basement. Then I went over to the bar, and signalled the bartender over.

"Welcome back to the Retching Netch," said the bartender, "What can I do for you?".

Before speaking I carefully slide some coins across the counter.

"Arano is concerned about House Hlaalu" I said "Know anything about that".

The coins soon vanished.

"Arano?" said the bartender, "Man's been chasing after the Ulens for years. That's no way to catch a Hlaalu in the act. No, if you want to catch those slippery Slaughterfish, you have to let them come to you. The Ulen Family has an ancestral tomb over near the temple. Rumour has it, someone's been leaving offerings there. Maybe if you were to keep an eye on the tomb, you might find someone who can answer your questions".

I gave him an extra tip for this information, and within moments I was heading towards the temple. I quickly located the Ulen Ancestral Tomb, and headed inside. As soon as I entered the place it became clear to me that someone had indeed been maintaining the tomb. I made my way to the main chamber, and found a spot to hide behind some large urns.

For about an hour, nothing happened and when I was about to give up I heard the door being opened. I quickly cast my best Chameleon spell, stealth not being one of my stronger talents, and kept an eye on who entered. I saw a dark elf woman walk up to the main altar to the tomb. I kept quiet, and watched her leave an offering upon the altar, and then leave again.

Once she was gone I got up from my hiding spot, and left the tomb as the spell I'd just cast came to an end. When outside I headed back towards the council chambers, and found Arano heading up the road. I hurried over to speak with him, so that I could tell him what I'd just seen.

"I have some information for you" I said.

Again there was no idle chit chat.

"Yes, what did you discover?" asked Arano.

I told him about the woman who I'd seen leaving the Ulen Ancestral Tomb. I didn't know her but Arano was able to piece together from my description who she was.

"I see," said Arano, "Take this key, I want you to investigate Severin Manor, and do so carefully".

Seeing no reason not to I took the key from him, and headed for Severin Manor, which I got directions for. When I arrived I used the key, and headed into the manor. Standing just inside the manor were Tilisu Severin, who was the woman I'd seen in the tomb, and another Dunmer, both of them were waiting with weapons drawn.

"Well, what do you know?" said Tilisu, "if it isn't Morvayn's little pet".

I had no chance to reply to that as the two dark elves launched themselves into battle against me. They tried their best, but their skills were rather lacking when compared to mine. So soon enough, both of them lay dead on the ground, and I searched them for evidence. On the body of Tilisu's companion, some other elf I didn't know, I uncovered a key, one different than the key for the door. Once done here I headed down the stairs into the main house, and began searching for any sort of evidence.

For the most part, the manor contained nothing out of the ordinary. However, in the master bedroom I uncovered what I was looking for, even if I hadn't really known that I'd been looking for it. Next to the bookshelf, I found a safe. I tried the key that I'd found only a few moments ago, and the lock opened. I dug though the safe's contents, and came upon something quite interesting: a scroll marked with the symbol of the Morag Tong.

I'd heard a lot about this group so I knew that the Morag Tong were the only legally sanctioned organisation for assassins in this world. It was said to have been founded by the Daedric Prince Mephala, but I had no idea if that was true or not.

In Dunmeri legends, Mephala taught the early Chimer nomads, who were emigrating from Summerset Isles, how to evade their adversaries, how to destroy them with conspiracy and to make secret plots of murder. Once they settled in Morrowind a small faction of Chimer, the race that would become the Dark Elves continued to adhere to these principles, and thus the Morag Tong were born.

Quickly I read the scroll over, and learned that the Severin family had in fact ordered a hit on Councillor Morvayn to avenge the death of someone called Vilur Ulen. It also revealed that the Morag Tong were working out of Ashfallow Citadel, and that another member of the Severin family, known as Vendil, was working closely with them to get the job done.

I took the evidence with me, and then left the manor. I found Arano wandering just out of the Retching Netch, so I went to present him with the evidence that I'd found.

"Councillor, I discovered this contract in the Severin Manor," I said, "I think this is what you were looking for".

Adril took the contract from me, and as he read it over his face expressed several different feelings, ending it what I thought must be some sort of grim determination.

"Good work," said Arano, "Now, it seems I have another task for you".

I knew where this was going.

"Let me guess," I said, "You want me to head to Ashfallow Citadel and wipe out the Morag Tong?".

They wouldn't be the first group of assassins that I'd wiped out. I'd destroyed the Dark Brotherhood not so long after they foolishly tried to kill me.

"My thoughts exactly," said Arano. "I sent some of my best guards there some time ago to investigate some reports of odd activity. With any luck, they should still be nearby. Now, get to it".

(Line Break)

**Ashfallow Citadel. Solstheim.**

Aela, Frea and I made it to the place known as Ashfallow Citadel easily enough as Frea was able to guide us there, and I found the place half buried in the ash. We approached carefully, and soon we found the dead bodies of two Redoran guards near the entrance.

"So much for that backup" I said to the two women.

We continued moving and soon entered the citadel through a passage that was partly concealed by some rocks. The entrance level was quiet. However, when we descended into the tunnels below, we came across the assassins of the dreaded Morag Tong.

They fought well, but they lacked the experience I had acquired over the years, and my backup were better fighters as well. Plus assassins were used to surprising people, not being surprised by unexpected attackers. When we arrived in what seemed to be the citadel's main corridor we found that the way forward was blocked by several gates, and from what I could see the gates were split it into three main segments.

We moved down the corridor, fighting off Morag Tong as they emerged from side chambers, and after taking them down we checked out these side rooms for myself, looking for a way to progress such as hidden levers, or maybe pressure switches.

The first room on the right was barracks, containing little other than spare bits of armour. The next room contained a well stocked Alchemy Lab, as well as a pull chain. I used the chain, and the first gate in the hall ground open with a rather loud squealing noise.

I headed back into the corridor, with Aela and Frea behind me, and we moved into the next section, fighting off another trio of Morag Tong. I checked the side areas again finding another pull chain in a dead end corridor filled with bear traps. After using it, I headed back to the main corridor and searched the opposite side of the hall. Here I found a room with a training room complete with a combat ring. I found another pull chain here, and used it. Finally gaining access to the rest of the citadel.

"Ah, the humans who have been crawling around in our home," said the leader, '"your path ends here, no one can stop us from achieving our goals!"

The charged in to attack me, but I skilfully dodged their blows and countered with precise strikes of my own.

_"I join you in death, father..." one of them whispered as he died. _

Soon enough, they had all fallen, and I searched them. On the leader, I found a key identical to the one Arano had given me. This led me to the conclusion that this was Vendil Severin, the third and apparently final conspirator.

My task here done, I made my way back outside. I headed west down the slopes, and arrived back at Raven Rock without much trouble. I soon found Arano wander around, and I moved to go speak with him.

"Councillor," I said, "I've dealt with the Morag Tong. The threat has been dealt with, but the Morag Tong killed your guards before I arrived".

"Damn," said Arano, sounding truly upset by the news "They were good men… their families will need to be notified. Come with me, First Councillor Morvayn need to know what we've turned up".

While Frea and Aela were asked to wait outside. I followed Arano to the Council Chambers, and over to were Councillor Morvayn was sitting.

"Ah, Arano," said Morvayn, "What have you been up to?".

"With the help of this Imperial, I have uncovered a plot against you," said Arano, "Read this, Lleril".

The man called Lleril Morvayn took the contract from him, and looked it over.

"By Azura… it seems you were right, Adril," said Morvayn, "We need to ready for their attack".

He need not be concerned.

"Don't worry about that," said Arano, "It has already been dealt with".

"Truly?" said Morvayn, while turning to me, "then it seems rewards are in order. Please, step forwards".

I approached Morvayn, and stood ready to hear what ever he would have to say.

"Hmm… Ah yes, I remember you," said Morvayn, "A recent arrival to the island from Skyrim".

If he didn't know that I was the Dragonborn he soon would.

"Yes, Councillor," I said.

For a moment I considered bowing, but I was the important person here, people should be bowing towards me.

"I must thank you for you aid in halting this attempt on my life," said Morvayn "I would like you to know that your aid in protecting my life is worth more than money could ever measure. The Severins have no place in Raven Rock any further. This leaves us with an unoccupied manor. I would like to gift this home to you, if you are willing".

Hearing this actually shocked me.

"I thank you for this gift, Councillor," I said, "I accept".

Even for me getting such a big reward was unexpected, and it was a welcome reward as I could do with a place to rest at, as well as a place to store some of my stuff at.

"I'll let you get to inspecting your new property" said the local leader.

With that I nodded and left the council chambers, picking up my travelling companions on the way. The I headed down the road and entered my new home. Inside, I saw that someone, likely Adril's guards, had cleaned up in here. I went downstairs, and sat down to take a break for now.

(Line Break)

**Severin Manor. Solstheim**

It was late at night and while Frea slept and Aela was out doing the whole werewolf thing I laid on my bed in my new house with nothing to do. By now it was too late to leave the house, and I could do with getting some sleep yet I felt restless. Fucking would help, but Frea didn't know me that well and seeking Aela for an activity would be rather dangerous right now. There were normally plenty of females around for me to seek pleasure from, but not tonight, not here, so I summoned a female to me using my growing magical powers.

As soon as she appeared I took in the Dark Seducer's form. She wore a black helmet that looked like an eagle's head. The black chest piece she wore complimented her blue-tinted skin nicely, showing off her cleavage. Her midriff was small and toned. Her long legs were so slender, and as for the part I really cared for that was concealed by a short skirt piece.

"Master" the Dark Seducer said as she bowed respectfully

I'd summoned this Daedra before and I'd broken her to will by torturing her. Her kind enjoyed it when a male hurt them in sexual ways. I figured it had to do with the males of that species being such a bunch of sissies. Not that it mattered to me.

Before long I walked up to the Dark Seducer, and took one more look at her body before I pushed up her against the wall. Our lips met and I kissed her roughly. The non-human entity kissed back with just as much enthusiasm. Our tongues met, and did something that could be called dancing in one another's mouths.

Once I was done with the kissing I worked my way down and began to bite her neck. The Dark Seducer let out a whimper of approval, and I figured that right now she was getting super wet. I bit down hard a few times just to her whimper in a mixture of pain and pleasure.

Before long I had removed her chest piece, and when cool night air met her shielded breasts, her nipples hardened before her eyes. I soon grabbed her right breast and fondled it, rubbing her nipple from time to time. The dark beauty groaned. She greatly enjoyed my attentions and the confidence I showed when touching her. She also enjoyed how rough I became with her breasts as I played with them. I pinched her nipples and twisted them as she moaned.

"Take me Master" she pleaded.

I walked over to the bed and threw the Dark Seducer onto it. Her pert breasts jiggled a little upon impact, a sight that made me smile.

"Are you ready to serve your master?" I asked "Are you ready for a good, hard fucking?".

I'd broken her will, which was something you had to do with unbound daedra so that they didn't murder you the moment your back was turned. This was why it remained important to stay in control when spending time with the Daedra creature.

"Yes Master, I am always ready to serve" said the Dark Seducer obediently.

Her cat-like eyes were bright and full of desire. Her cheeks were a little flushed as well as I bent the Dark Seducer over the foot of his bed, hitched up her skirt and explored her pussy with my fingers. When my fingers met with her hot mound, the Dark Seducer began trying to hump my hand.

When my hands made their way to the Dark Seducer's rear end I looked at it with delight, the bottom was quite a sight. I grabbed one cheek in his hands and squeezed it, then I spanked the cheek. The Dark Seducer made a sound that was somewhere between pain and pleasure. This just made me all the more horny so I spanked her again, this time leaving a red mark. She loved to be spanked by me, she loved every minute of it so I kept spanking her a while.

However as fun as this was I needed sex badly and she wanted it as well, so I took off my undergarments, and could anyone have seen it they would have known that my little solider was erect and ready for duty. I took my manhood into his hand and guided it towards the Dark Seducer's waiting sex

The Dark Seducer's knees almost buckled as I entered her, and Dark Seducer moaned loudly when I finally began to fuck her.

"Ohh my Master! Oh my Master yes!" she declared.

I grabbed the Dark Seducer's hips and thrusted in and out, hard and fast. The sexy immortal in front of me cried out in pleasure.

"Fuck me hard, fuck me" she shouted.

The Dark Seducer's dirty talk was always good to hear, and it only encouraged me to fuck her like she wished.

(Line Break)

**Severin Manor. Solstheim**

The man was large, and he was wearing a full set of Ebony armor. He had an Ebony Sword strapped to his hip, and an Ebony Shield on his back. I could see nothing of this man, if it even was a man, as all the person's features were hidden by the warrior's armour.

"You, you're the one they call Dragonborn?" a voice asked.

Given the armour who else could I be?

"I am" I confirmed "And you are?".

"People call me the Ebony Warrior. I'm not too fond of it, but it'll do," the Warrior responded.

At this point I noticed that everyone in the marketplace was watching the exchange as if they knew something was about to happen. Only nothing did happen as the warrior just stared at me. I found the experience to be unnerving and decided to leave. I needed to go and find the wizard.

"Well if there is nothing else," I said.

With that I attempted to walk away, but the Ebony Warrior stopped me

"I've done everything there is to do in Skyrim, I've defeated every foe, battle every kind of creature" the Warrior stated. "Now one challenge remains, to fight you. One on one, to the death,"

The warrior and I stared each other down. I didn't really want to do more fighting right now, but it seemed that I didn't have much choice.

"Fine let's do this outside of the town" I said.

Since a crowd of people followed that made it rather pointless to leave with the intent of making sure that no bystanders got hurt.

"Be ready for your death, Dragonborn," the Warrior said.

"Send him to Sovngarde!" a Nord called out.

I didn't know which of us they were talking to.

"Time to end the Last Dragonborn" declared the armoured guy who wanted to kill me.

The Ebony Warrior charged, swinging his blade at me, I parried the move before striking at the Warrior. He blocked my dragonblade with his own enchanted weapon and the two of held our blades together we were both attempting to overpower the other.

When that came to an end we both back off and we began circling each other, each sizing up the other. Before long I went on the offensive with a flurry of strikes aimed at the man, if he was a man, who was clad in Ebony. However the unnamed warrior blocked expertly as did I went the warrior tried to cut me down.

This battle of wills and skill turned in my favour when the warrior lunged, thrusting his sword forward, overextending himself as I rolled to the side, thrusted my blade into the Warrior's side, the wound wasn't fatal as my foe's armour was to good, but it pissed my enemy off.

The Warrior screamed in anger, charged me and began battering down my defence with strong, hard strikes. I did my best to defend, and before long he backed away again.

"YOL TOOR SHUL!" he Shouted

Fire came from the Ebony Warrior, he'd learned a powerful Shout somewhere along the way, but I battled dragon as such as I'd fire proofed myself as much as possible, if I hadn't then I'd have been burned to a crisp long ago.

"GAAN LAH HAAS" I Shouted.

The two of were already getting tired, as fighting like this in full armour was rather taxing, and it became obvious in the slowed pacing of the battle. So by using the Drain Vitality Shout I ensured that that Ebony Warrior would become weaker than I very quickly. I just had to keep the fight going and he would fall.

By now the two if stood, several feet away from each other, the Ebony Warrior was standing, however his posture seemed uncertain, and I knew that now that now I could finish him. I summoned up what strength I had last and brought my sword around so that I could remove the head of the Warrior. The move worked and the man's helmet headed ended up several feet away from the body that soon hit the ground.

While the crowd went back to their day I took the Ebony's Warrior's stuff. Aela had a dragonbone bow so I placed the ebony bow into my pouch as it was worth much in the way of gold, before giving her the arrows. The man's sword I also took, leaving the rest as I had limited room for carrying things.

"I'll have the man buried and his armour sent to your mansion" said one of the guards.

Since I'd slain the Ebony Warrior in honourable combat I had the right to anything he was had on him when he died.

"Thank you" I said to the guard.

At least they'd be polite to me from now on.

(Line Break)

**Tel Mithryn. Solstheim**

I was not expecting to find myself in what looked to be a grove of giant mushrooms, but this was the case. I'd heard that Tel Mithryn was a supposedly small Telvanni tower located at the southeast end of Solstheim. It served as the home and laboratory of the Telvanni wizard, Master Neloth. Only it wasn't as small as I'd heard.

Thankfully we found a door before long and entered it, to find some sort of alchemy lab.

"Pardon me," I said.

There was a woman here who must know her way around this place.

"Yes," said the dark elf woman, who sounded more than a little exhausted, "what do you need?".

I was starting to wonder if I'd done something to offend the entire Dark Elf race as I'd met so few of them who could polite towards me.

"We're looking for the master wizard Neloth," I said, "Is he here?".

He damn well better be as it had taken far too long for us to find this place, and while I didn't feel the need to rush to face my fellow Dragonborn I couldn't spend all my time doing side quests.

"Master Neloth is present, but he is quite busy with his research," said the woman, "he has no time to speak to random travellers".

There was nothing random about me.

"I believe Neloth has space in his schedule for us" I insisted "We share a common interest in investigating what has happened to this island's standing stones, and in the Black Books".

Now that got the woman's attention.

"He should be in the main tower" she said.

While thinking myself a fool for not checking there first we headed up the ramp to the door to the tallest tower, and went inside. Just inside, we seemed to be at a dead end, at least until Frea stepped forward onto the circular pad that was in front of us. I watched as she was levitated up, landing on the floor above. I stepped in next, and the same thing happened, with Aela following close behind. We arrived in a fairly standard looking mage's quarters, with our goal standing nearby. Neloth watched as we arrived, and greeted us

"Ah, I thought you might come here to benefit from my knowledge," said Neloth, "so, how did your visit to the temple go?".

It didn't surprise me that he knew I'd been to the temple, after all he'd been the one to suggest going there.

"We found Miraak," I said, "it turns out he's hiding in a Realm of Oblivion".

This got the wizard's interest.

"And how did you learn this?" asked Neloth.

"I saw him," I said, "We battled after I found him inside what's called a Black Book".

The mages red eyes gave me an intense look.

"You posses a Black Book?" said Neloth.

I did not.

"No its still there in Miraak's temple" I told him

While he was free to go check it out we had other things to discuss first.

"For now I need to learn more about the Black Books so that I can figure out how to defeat Miraak before he comes here and takes over" I said next "Can you help with that?".

The mage smiled.

"You may have seen it in your wanderings" he started by saying "Just a short distance up the coast there is a Dwemer ruin, partially submerged within the Sea of Ghosts. Through my research, I have determined that this is the Dwemer city of Nchardak. I have been inside, and seen the Black Book stored there. However, I have yet to discover how to retrieve this tome".

I'd braved Dwemer ruins before.

"Alright, go into a ancient city, solve some sort of mysterious, city sized puzzle, and collect a highly dangerous artefact," I said, "seems like a fairly standard day trip for me".

"Indeed? Are you fully aware of what it is you seek?" asked Neloth.

I did not and I admitted this.

"The Black Books are gateways to Apocrypha, the realm of Oblivion belonging to Hermaeus Mora".

Now it all made sense. Mora's sphere of influence was memory and knowledge, that would explain why people, including myself, had been having trouble remembering about Mirrak, the other Dragonborn was somehow using the Daedric Prince's power to mess with our memories in order to deny us knowledge about him.

"Hermaeus Mora" I said "He seemed polite enough when we met".

The wizard stared at me in surprised.

"You've spoken to Hermaeus Mora?" asked Neloth.

That I had.

"Yes, on two occasions: the first was when he asked me to retrieve an artefact of his from from an ancient lockbox" I explained "Then when I completed this task he allowed me to read the Oghma Infinium".

The Oghma Infinium was a powerful Daedric artifact belonging to the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora. It is an ancient tome of knowledge written by Xarxes, the wizard sage and scribe also known as "The Ageless One" It was that tome which had given me most of my knowledge of magic since I'd not had the free time required to go and study at the college. This power hadn't been easy to get since in order to open the lockbox I'd needed to collect blood from different races, but that had been made somewhat easier by the amount of corpses that people became when they met me.

"What form did he appear in to you?" asked Neloth, quickly grabbing some paper and a quill.

This didn't seem important, but I chose to indulge the mage.

"A chaotic mass of eyes, tentacles, and claws," I said.

Very Lovecraftian.

"Interesting… very interesting," said Neloth as he took notes

Then he put the notes down and turned to face us.

"Well in any case," said Neloth, "We should head to Nchardak a soon as possible".

Yes the sooner the better, we might not have much time before the other Dragonborn competed his plans.


	5. Solstheim 5

**Dragonborn Gothic 2 - Solstheim**

**Part 5**

**Nchardak. Solstheim**

Frea, Aela, Neloth, and I headed up the coast, and soon enough our destination came into view. Nchardak: a Dwemer city, which had partly sunken into the Sea of Ghosts some time long ago. We advanced onto the bridge to the ruined city, and almost immediately were faced with Reavers, a group of pirates who seemed the be using the external towers of the old city as a base.

We fought our way along, Neloth's powerful spells proving to be quite a boon which helped make up for the fact that he was an annoying travelling companion. Before too long, we reached the doors which would take us inside, but they were barred.

"Well, we're here," I said, "now what?".

The dark elf mage stepped forward.

"I learned on my previous visit here that the Dwemer operated the machines here with special control cubes" he explained to the group "I locked the city's gates when I left, to keep out the riffraff. I'll unlock the gate now".

Neloth reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Dwemer made metal cube, which I could see was filled with many cogs. He placed it on the pedestal next to the door, and the gates slid aside. Neloth retrieved the cube and gestured for us to follow. We did just that and arrived in a circular chamber with a glass case set into the floor. I could clearly see the Black Book.

"So tantalisingly close, yet just beyond reach," said Neloth, "I believe that the case can be opened if we restore the steam pressure to this chamber. Come, along, the main part of the city is this way".

Neloth led us to an elevator platform, and I pulled the lever, taking us down below. We arrived in a dark hallway and headed along listen to Neloth give us an impromptu lecture on Nchardak.

"Nchardak, or 'The City of 1000 Towers', was one of the great strongholds of the Dwemer. It's said that when the ancient Nords attacked the city, the Dwemer sank it beneath the waves" we were told, "Some scholars also believe that many of the automatons used during the first battle of Red Mountain came from here".

As he continued the ramble on stuff I knew very little about, we arrived a massive chamber, Ahead of us, partially submerged in the water, were four Dwemer machinations of some sort, all currently inactive. Neloth continued forwards and placed his control cube on one of the pedestals. Some of the chamber's machines clanked to life, and the water level dropped, revealing a platform with four more pedestals.

"There they are: those are the boilers we need to activate," said Neloth, "to do that, we'll need to find four more control cubes. I should also mention that there seem to be two different types of pedestal: the red type only requires you to place the cube on them briefly and remain in the position you leave them in. The blue type, on the other hand, requires you to leave the cube behind, otherwise, the device they are connected to will shut off".

"Well then," I said, "do you have any idea where we could find these cubes?"

Neloth stepped over to a strange-looking panel nearby and seemed to be trying to interpret something.

"Yes… I think I know where to find them," said Neloth, "There should be three in the workshop, and one down in the aqueducts. However, we can currently only access the workshops".

So we'd need that cube before we could after the others.

"Alright, let's go," I decided.

The mage held me back for a moment.

"One moment," said Neloth, "take the control cube, the Dwemer who lived here seemed to have quite an affinity for them".

I nodded, and picked up the cube, bringing the water level back up to where it was when we'd entered. Then we followed Neloth over to another door blocked by a gate. I placed the cube onto the pedestal, and the gates slid open. I collected the cube, and we followed Neloth into the workshops. Immediately inside the workshops, we were faced by a pedestal holding another control cube.

"Well, that was remarkably easy," I remarked, "We're already one step closer to our goal".

I collected the cube, which shut off the fire traps nearby, as well as releasing some Dwemer Spiders and Spheres. To our group of four, Neloth, Frea, Aela and myself, these were little more than an inconvenience.

We continued down the hallway and came to a larger, flooded room with a bridge spanning its length. We crossed the bridge and listened to Neloth continue to talk about the history of Nchardak. We reached the far end and placed one of the cubes onto a pedestal. We then watched as the water level dropped, allowing us to access the lower level. We descended and looked for the next cube. I noticed two pedestals on the north side of the room, seeing that one was connected to a drawbridge, while the other's pipe vanished under the floor.

I tried the cube on this pedestal and watched as a series of stairs raised to allow us access to a side chamber. We entered this room and found another control cube on a blue pedestal. I collected this cube and watched as the water level came up part of the way. At the same time, the hatches of the wall cycled open releasing more Dwemer automatons. We fought them off and returned to where we'd left the other cube. I collected this one as well, raising the water level even higher.

We swam over to the only path we hadn't taken, the southern door. The passage took us higher, out of the water, and into a chamber with a balcony above, which were guarded by some new type of automaton. It seemed to be an armoured crossbow, with spider-like legs. Neloth quickly blasted this machine with a bolt of lightning, which dealt with it quickly.

I heard something moving behind me and turned around just in time to see Frea, who'd been watching our backs, take out another of these machines. At this point, the room seemed to be clear, and I spotted the next cube, sitting on a pedestal on the lower section of this room. I hopped down to collect it and soon I picked up this cube, bringing our total up to four and we climbed back up to the higher ledge. Then I used one of the cubes to lower a bridge, allowing us to return to the main boiler room.

Now that we had what we needed to advance further I placed two of our four cubes on the pedestals, lowering the water level enough to expose two platforms on the north and south sides to the room. We headed for the north platform, taking out two more of these walking ballistae things as we went. We then headed through the nearby door, entering the aqueduct. Next, we headed down a short staircase and came to a new area with three raised bridges.

"Hmm," said Neloth, "I believe the pump control is up there, but to reach it, we'll have to lower the bridges. I shall leave such a menial task to you".

I headed up the ledge above the entranceway and found three red pedestals, each waiting to be used. I thought about this for a bit and then began attempting combinations. Luckily, I found the proper combination fairly quickly. We regrouped, and made our way around the chamber, battling Dwemer automatons as we went. Before long, we'd reached the pump control, and I placed a cube to lower the water level.

"You know I've had enough of wading through this muck. I'll have to get new robes after this," said Neloth, "I will wait here, and retrieve the cube when you are ready".

Upon hearing this I nodded, then the two women and I descended into the now drained pool, and entered the tunnel to the right, which led us around a corner and into a booby-trapped room. It looked like it would require considerable agility to cross until I realised we could simply avoid the traps walking around the side, an oversight by whoever had designed this place.

In an alcove at the end of the room, we found the final cube, with a pressure plate directly in front of it. I shook my head at how obvious this trap was, and grabbed the cube from the side. This shut off the traps, allowing us a more direct exit. We returned the way we had come, arriving back in the main aqueduct chamber before too much time had passed.

We moved to stand near the entrance, and I turned towards the pump control platform.

"Neloth, we're ready, take the cube," I called.

The powerful mage did just that, causing the room to flood once more. He waded over to join us, and we returned to the main hall once again. From there, we headed back up to the initial platform, and I took one of the cubes from here, raising the water level one stage, but leaving the boiler controls exposed.

"Alright then," said Neloth, "take this cube again for now, and activate the boilers".

I accepted the cube from him and headed down the boiler platform. I placed the four cubes onto their pedestals, hearing each boiler hiss to life. At the same time, the bridge to the west lowered, revealing a steam centurion. It was stomping towards me, and I took a deep breath.

"Yol… Toor… Shul!" I Shouted, blasting my foe with intense flames.

I then rushed in, finishing it off with my sword even as Neoloth hit with a spell and Aela struck it with an ebony arrow I'd found in the pouch of the Ebony Warrior I'd slain. I searched the hidden chamber it came from; uncovering a chest full of gold and jewels, which would pay for supplies for a good long while.

"That should do it," said Neloth, yelling slightly to be heard over the din of machinery, "We should be able the get to the book now!"

We headed back to the elevator platform and rode it back up the upper level. There, Neloth headed over to the now hopefully active controls and used them. Beams of light shined down from the prism overhead, striking the four gems around the storage case. Finally, the case opened, giving us access to the book.

"It worked," said Neloth, "Well, go ahead, you should be the first one to read it".

"Rather generous of you, Neloth".

His face made an amused expression.

"I'd rather allow a willing participant to try it out first," he said.

"Well, I don't have many choices, do I?" I said, "here we go again".

I picked up the book, and opened it, focusing on the pages before me. As before, I felt oily tendrils wrap around me, and I was drawn once more into Apocrypha.

(Line Break)

**Apocrypha. Realms of Oblivion.**

The realm of Apocrypha phased into view around me, in all its strangeness. This time, there was no one here, neither Dragonborn nor Daedra to meet me and the passage between dimensions didn't do me any harm. Must be one of those things you could adapt to overtime, that or someone wanted me here.

Ahead of me, I could see a tunnel of books twisting back and forth, but had no way to reach it. However, I did have access to a strange-looking switch. I used it, causing a platform to unfurl in front of me, allowing me to enter the tunnel on its next pass.

Before long I reached the opposite end of this passage and exited onto the only platform I could reach. Here, I found another switch. I used it, unrolling another platform. I re-entered the twisting tunnel and rode it over to the new platform. Here, I found a bookstand, and read the book present there, entering the next section.

The next area was a cylindrical tunnel with sheets of paper swirling around inside. I walked to the opposite end and found another switch. I used it, causing the walls of the tunnel to unroll, revealing a courtyard occupied by a Lurker and several Seekers.

I fought off the Seekers first, as their spells would have been troublesome, and then took out the Lurker, which was a challenge, but I'd had some experience with them by now so I knew to hamstring them as quickly as possible and then knock them onto their backs.

With the area clear, I activated another switch, opening the gate across the way. I entered the newly accessible alcove and used the bookstand there to enter the third section. This new area consisted of a series of circular platforms high above the sea of black goo, connected by bridges. I worked my way along the platforms, coming upon another Seeker as I neared the top of a staircase.

Soon enough, the platforms ended, and the only way forwards was another twisting tunnel. I stepped inside as it swung by, and before moving forwards, I decided to search the other platforms this end of the tunnel connected to. The first platform it took me to contained little except another Lurker, however, I noticed that directly above me was a sort of cage, containing another bookstand.

As I had no way of reaching or opening it from here, I turned back and hopped back into the tunnel, then rode it over to the last platform on this side. Here I was attacked by another pair of Seekers. I dealt with them easily enough, and then searched the area. I found some soul gems, some rare books, and a spell tome. I read through this spell tome and discovered it contained a conjuration spell for summoning a Seeker.

I resisted the urge to collect or read any of the other books as I'd heard a legend about people wandering this realm forever while looking for more knowledge, and whole I did love a good book, that would not be my fate. Besides, I limited room in my pouch of holding.

Moving on as best I could I returned to the twisting tunnel again, and this time headed through. The tunnel led me to a junction, where I hit another switch. This opened the gates for the path straight ahead but blocked off the other tunnel. As I stepped past the junction the tunnel ahead of me extended, allowing me to continue, which was all I could do.

I reached the corner of the tunnel, where two more Seekers showed their faces. I took them out, with spells and sword, and then headed along the next section of the tunnel. The passage suddenly twisted to the left, lining up with another tunnel section, which contained a Lurker. I fought my way past this as well and continued up the tunnel. Once again, the tunnel twisted to the left, bringing me back to the previous junction.

I hit the switch near me, and the gates swung around, allowing me to use the other tunnel. This tunnel remained stable and took me to a room with a large pool of black goo, and several empty bookstands. I navigated around the edge of the chamber, doing my best to avoid the tendril which rose from the pool to attack me.

Then I entered the next passage which was a wide hall guarded by several Seekers as well as small pools. I pushed forwards, battling my way past each Seeker, and before too long arrived at the bookstand at the end of the area. I used it and entered the fourth section while wondering how long this could go on for.

I arrived on a platform high above the rest of the area, with another of the realm's strange switches nearby. Across the way, I could see the cage I'd seen from below. I triggered the switch and watched as the walls of the cage spun and unfurled, looking like a very odd flower. At the same time, a bridge unrolled from my platform, allowing me to reach the opened cage. I crossed the bridge and found my goal: the Black Book's twin. I opened the book and noticed that nothing happened. A few moments later, the air rippled and flowed aside, allowing Hermaeus Mora to manifest before me.

"Greetings my Lord," I said.

It was best to be polite with Daedric Princes as they could smite you.

"Ah, my Champion," said Mora, "I knew you would find your way here. You seek the same power which Miraak wields. As a small token for making it to this place, I shall provide you with a portion of what you need. With this, you will be able to twist the minds of mortals to your will".

Hermaeus Mora extended one of his tendrils and formed an orb of energy atop it. The orb then flew towards me, bursting open and flowing into me, granting me a new word of power.

Mind, Bend Will. The second part of the Shout I'd used to free the poor sods who'd been enslaved by the other Dragonborn.

"Thank you, my lord," I said.

"You will need what I can provide if you wish to challenge Miraak," said Mora.

The tentacle horror seemed pleased by my respect, although I could be wrong about that what with the being's total lack of any facial expressions due to a lack of any face.

"Then what is your price?" I asked, "I know you won't give me this knowledge for free".

The Princes could be bargained with as long as you were careful. It was important not to get greedy and to keep focused on what you needed.

"Indeed, but it is a simple matter," said Mora, extending two tendrils as he spoke, "Knowledge for Knowledge".

"Knowledge of what?" I asked.

I had a sinking feeling that I knew what the dark god wanted.

"The Skall," said Mora, "they have withheld their secrets from me for far too long. It is time for this knowledge to become part of my archives".

Yeah, I'd known that I wouldn't like it.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, dreading what he'd say.

"Send their shaman to me," said Mora, "He holds what I seek. Farewell, for now, you know what must be done".

Mora's manifestation bubbled away, and the book before me became active. I examined the option presented to me and noticed that each of them would modify the power of one of my Shouts. One would increase the power of Unrelenting Force, making it capable of disintegrating my foes. One would add to my Frost Breath, making it capable of freezing my foes solid. The third would strengthen my Fire Breath, making it capable of summoning fiery wraiths when my Thu'um took out a foe. I considered my choices and selected the third as I liked fire. The book flipped to the proper section, and I read how to perform the action. This done, I focused on the book again and felt myself being sent back to the mortal plane.

(Line Break)

**Nchardak. Solstheim**

I found myself back in the 'reading room' of Nchardak, with my companions around me. Neloth was the first to speak.

"Well, what happened?" asked Neloth, "each who enter the books are said to have different experiences".

Different was a good word for what I'd just gone through.

"I had another encounter with Hermaeus Mora," I said.

"Interesting," said Neloth, "yet you still appear to have your sanity intact. That is more than many can claim after an encounter with Mora. What did he say to you?"

"He granted me another Word of Power, and told me that he would teach me what I apparently need to challenge Miraak" I reported, "at a price, of course".

No one was surprised by this news.

"Something tells me you are displeased with this deal," said Aela, "what does that demon want?".

While the Daedra weren't demons as demons have any souls to Soul Trap and Daerda did, this wasn't the time to bring that up.

"Mora wants the 'Secret knowledge of the Skall'," I said.

I looked at Frea.

"Secret knowledge of the Skall?" she asked, "what could that be".

Actually, I had no idea.

"I see no issues with this deal," said Neloth, "You get what you need, and Mora learns some new ways to skin a Horker".

Frea then did what I wanted to do and slapped the wizard.

(Line Break)

**Skaal Village. Solstheim.**

"Ah, Dragonborn," said Storn, "How goes your search?"

"I have uncovered a potential way of reaching Miraak," I said, "But I'm not happy about it".

Which was a bit of an understatement really. The Skaal had nursed me back to health after my encounter with the other Dragonborn so it didn't sit well with me to sacrifice one of them.

"Why? What's required?" asked Storn.

"Mora manifested before me," I explained, "he said he'd grant me the knowledge I need… if I provided a piece of knowledge in return. The greater issue isn't that he wants something _I_ know: he wants your knowledge of the Secrets of the Skaal".

"Herma-Mora demands a high price indeed," said Storn, "your hesitance shows wisdom. The Demon of Knowledge is not to be trusted. However, a deal struck cannot be false… he will have no choice but to honour your agreement. Give me the book".

I did just that.

"Father!" said Frea, "please reconsider! I fear you will not last if you challenge Herma-Mora!"

"Listen to her!" Aela added, "there must be another option, something else we can try!"

"Do not fear for me," said Storn, "the All-Maker has laid this path for me to follow".

"I'm… sorry," I said sadly, "I didn't want this"

Alas, this was needed, otherwise, that other Dragoborn would return, and when he did he'd be too strong for me to stop, of that I felt sure.

"I know, and I do not lay blame upon you," said Storn, "make this count".

With those final words, Storn opened the book and I watched as Mora's tendrils wrapped around his neck, and lifted him into the air, before one launched forwards, piercing his skull. The tendril then retracted, and Mora manifested before us.

"Well," said Mora, "It seems that you have fulfilled your end of the bargain. I grant you this gift, the final word that can bend the minds of those around you to your will".

I felt the world pour into my mind and when it was all over I saw Frea, who was crying over her father's body and at the Skaal, who were eyeing me with fear and suspicion. There was nothing I could do to change what had just happened. Poor Storn had become a victim of my conflict with Miraak. All I could do was make sure his sacrifice was not in vain. But even if I did successfully slay him I'd never be welcome in this village again. Perhaps it was a good thing that Frea and I had never become close, in fact, she might even become my enemy.

(Line Break)

**Apocrypha. Realm of Oblivion.**

After finding more of the Black Books I was able to locate the correct book and I ended up in a part of this realm that allowed me to look up at tower where I knew Miraak waited for me.

My Fly Shout was incomplete so I wouldn't be able to use it to get me up that high. I'd not yet been able to form three Words that would lead to a powerful flying effect. I couldn't just throw such words together, I had to take the time to understand them, and how they would work together.

Which meant my only other option was to use the Shout Mora had given me to control a dragon and have it fly me up there. Which Mora had known all along. There were dragons about only they were high above and right now had no interest in me.

Which left me free to explore the three Word Walls here. One by one I went to them and learned the words.

Pah WERID MOROKei MiraaK

ZOK SULeyKaaR DO Pah

SONaaK WEN MUL BOLaaV

NaaL FahLUaaN DO JUL

"All praise glorious Miraak. Most powerful servant of all Dragon Priests, whose strength was granted by(the gardener of mankind" I translated.

HET ONT KRiiST MiraaK WO ahTiiD

OK SahVOT OL Qah SPaaN NaaL

DeyRA Fah OK UNSLaaD MIDUN

"Here once stood Miraak who wore his faith as armour shield by the Daedra for his eternal loyalty" I again translated.

QETHSEGOL VahRUKIV LOT MiraaK

SONaaK DO LOT ONIKaaN aaR

DO FaaL DiiV ahRK HOKORON DO JUL

This stone commemorates great Miraak: Dragon Priest of great wisdom, servant of the wyrm, and enemy of mankind.

"Diiv… Wyrm… Dragon Aspect," I said.

This was the Shout that Miraak had used when we met, and now I knew the Shout too, which would hopefully make me his equal. Now all I needed was a dragon, and I didn't have to wait for long.

"Drem yol lok," said the dragon, "I am Sahrotaar".

The creature knew what I was and so greeted me as kin.

"Drem yol lok," I replied "_Paaz Shul Grind"_

The literal translation would be Fair Sun Meet, but it actually meant: Nice to meet you.

"_Wo los hi?"_

While Sahrotaar knew what I was he didn't know my name

"Gothic," I told him

No words were spoken for a moment.

_"Fen hi aak?" I requested._

_If my understanding of this form of speech was corrected I'd just asked this dragon to guide me._

"Well, we might as well not keep Miraak waiting," said the dragon.

I watched Sahrotaar, wondering what he meant. Then it hit me the Bend Will Shout. He was waiting for me to enslave him to my will.

"No need to use that Shout," I told the Dovah "You could just take me up there of your own free will".

The dragon was not only willing to aid me he was happy to help. I suspected that he'd not imagined that I wouldn't enslave him to my will, and so my unexpected ally in the form of Sahrotaar took me skywards, as we spiralled up the sides of the tower. He seemed eager, perhaps hopeful that I would defeat the other Dragonborn and end his rule over the dragons who lived here. Miraak must not control them as well as he imagined.

Once up there I spotted two other dovah who were flying around, and one was carrying Miraak. He directed his enslaved dragon towards the top of the tower and dismounted. My willing dragon flew over and landed on the platform, shifting back to my normal for in one smooth motion.

"Ah, you," said Miraak, "the boy who thinks himself worthy of the power I wield by birthright. The power of the one true ruler of Nirn".

I might have debated that, but Tiber Septim had been one of us and he'd forged an empire, perhaps we did have that right.

"And so the First Dragonborn meets the Last Dragonborn at the summit of Apocrypha," said my enemy "No doubt just as Hermaeus Mora intended. He is a fickle master, you know. But now I will be free of him. My time in Apocrypha is nearly over. You will die. And with the power of your soul, I will return to Solstheim and be master of my own fate again".

Miraak drew his sword, I drew my sword as well, and then our battle commenced. We clashed back and forth, each fighting to the best for our abilities.

"Fo… Krah… Diin!" Shouted Miraak.

"Yol… Toor… Shul!" I Shouted back.

Ice met fire and more or less cancelled each other out. Then Miraak tried to drive me back with the tendrils which shot out of his staff, but I dodged out of the way.

"Wuld… Nah… Kest!" Shouted Miraak,

"Tiid… Klo… Ul!" I countered.

While he speeds himself up I slowed everything down, which again kept things even, neither of us did the other harm even as we traded spells and tried to stab each other. I hit him with a fireball, and the other Dragonborn staggered back only to send ice at me, which I blocked with a magical ward.

When I could see that he was tiring and watched as he used Become Ethereal, and then one of his enthralled dragons landed. It was then that he pulled out a Thu'um that was beyond my power.

"Kruziikrel, ziil los dii du!" Shouted Miraak.

I watched as Miraak's Words ripped the soul right out of his minion's body, killing it instantly and restoring him. When his period of invulnerability faded, and I rushed in, attacking him again. The battle was much the same as before, with Miraak using Become Ethereal followed by his four worded Thu'um.

"Relonikiv, ziil los dii du!" Shouted Miraak.

Again, he was healed as the dragon's soul was violently ripped out. The battle commenced again, with me weakening Miraak, and hoping he'd fall this time. Unfortunately, this was not meant to be. Sahrotaar flew in, blasting Miraak with Frost Breath in an attempt to aid me. This failed because Miraak had Become Ethereal again, and readied the words that ended Sahrotaar.

"Sahrotaar, ziil los dii du!" Shouted Miraak.

The battle waged on, I summoned Seeker after Seeker while matching the Shouts of my deadly foe, the Seekers were no more than a distraction to my enemy, but that was enough to allow me to hit him with fireballs. Even with the extra souls, he couldn't defeat me, and I had to wonder if the Daedric Prince who ruled this realm was doing something to make things more even. Maybe he wanted a fair contest for his amusement. No doubt much about this amused him, like how Storn had died for a Word I hadn't even needed to use.

"Sahrotaar, ziil los dii du!" Shouted Miraak.

Nothing happened, and I realised that my enemy had tried to take my Soul, but it didn't work.

"You need my name!" I realised "And you don't know it".

Gothic was just something I called myself because my real name didn't really suit the image of a heroic warrior. Alas while I did know Miraak's name I didn't understand the Shout

Miraak roared a challenge at me and charged forwards. I took a deep breath and released my Thu'um.

"Fo… Krah… Diin!" I Shouted, extending the final syllable into a long stream of ice.

Miraak was travelling too quickly to dodge, and actually moved through the Shout straight towards me, and still had enough power to knock me to the ground. He lost control and began to strike me with his fist, not an effective tactic against someone wearing a helmet.

I pushed and rolled, and we fought like two kids on a schoolyard rather than the mighty warriors that we were. I proved to be better at this because I wasn't wearing fancy robes as armour. Dragonplate was tough stuff and my gauntlets did far more damage than gloved hands.

When I finally couldn't fight any more I did my best to stand up and this was when the ruler of this realm appeared.

"Did you think to escape me, Miraak? You can hide nothing from me here. No matter. I have found a new Dragonborn to serve me." Hermaeus Mora said.

"May he be rewarded for his service as I am!" he shouted.

A tentacle shot up and impaled the First Dragonborn and he was lifted into the air, and as when a dragon died the soul of Miraak entered me as his body burned away. The feeling of sheer power flowing into me was better than anything I'd felt before. When I'd recovered from the sensation enough to stand up I found myself looking at Mora.

"Miraak harboured fantasies of rebellion against me. Learn from his example. Serve me faithfully, and you will continue to be richly rewarded" the Prince told me.

I had no intention of becoming the plaything of a Daedric Prince.

_"Fus Bex Miraad!"_

With my new power, it became possible to open a doorway to another world as I'd planned to, and before Mora could impale me as he had done to Miraak I ran through the rift that I'd made in the fabric of existence. Despite not knowing where it would take me, and only stopping long enough to grab Brisingr, my sword, before leaving this reality.


End file.
